UOAA Discussion Board

Hi all, I'm new to this forum but have had my ileostomy for about four years now. My question is about salt intake, is it necessary to continue having a high intake even after all this time? Whiles it's not a huge issue, I'd much prefer to be able to reduce my sodium intake for all sorts of reasons. Or does having an ileostomy reduce the need to watch sodium intake.

Briefly, you are absolved from watching your salt intake, unless increases result in more output...

Thanks for that Jono. Of course, the concern is raising blood pressure, but I suppose if it's not being absorbed, there should be no problem.

When the population at large is analyzed, lower sodium intake falls out as a good thing, but if one looks at subsets of patients, the ones that really benefit are primarily from ethnic backgrounds where salt was hard to come by (like central and west Africa) and people who have established heart or cerebrovascular disease.
For the rest of us, if we eat too much, our kidneys are remarkably good at getting rid of it.

Of note, there are a couple recent studies suggesting that salt restriction may be associated with worse outcomes overall.
Anyway, remember what your Grandmother probably said:

All things in moderation

J