Surprise: Too Much Salt Will Make You Swell UP!

I know that salt can make people retain water, contribute to high blood pressure, etc. My husband is one who is salt sensitive. He religiously watches his salt intake, reads labels and won't buy something if the sodium content is too high. I, however, am one of those people who has never had much of a problem with salt. I have low blood pressure (typically 110/60) and I've actually been rather cavalier about the issue. "Oh, salt never bothers me." In fact, I often add salt when I could probably get by without it. I tend to like things on the salty side.

Yesterday, we went with our newly arrived friends to a Chinese restaurant out by the airport. We ordered several dishes, including one called salt and pepper pork chops. When the food came, even I noticed that most of it was rather salty and that the pork chops were VERY salty. But did it keep me from eating them? No. After all, I don't have an issue with salt.

Last night, as I was writing my apology post, my feet were on the floor (as opposed to up on a footstool). Writing the post took about 20 minutes. When I finished, I got up to go to bed, and realized I could hardly walk. My feet and ankles were SO swollen, they looked grotesque. I had never seen them look like that except immediately after I sprained the right ankle a few years ago. The skin was stretched so tight it felt ready to split. I literally hobbled into the bathroom, took a good look, and said to myself..."Wow, I guess too much salt can make you swell up." Duh. (Especially when combined with hot, humid weather, and not drinking much water.)

So I immediately drank two huge glasses of water, went to bed and propped up my feet on two big pillows. Of course, I was up 3 times in the night to pee, but this morning my ankles look almost normal again. Not quite, but almost.

Live and learn, I guess. Today I'm going to be drinking tons of water and watching the salt intake. So far, I've already had 3 big glasses of water.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a nice Thursday. Excuse me while I run to the bathroom.