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When someone is overly sensitive to nickel the symptoms are those of an inflammatory overload: headache, gastro-esophageal reflux, but above all atopic dermatitis and dyshydrosis, that is, dry, cracked and blistered skin. These are all signs of a body that struggles managing its toxic load.
Salt (sodium chloride, normal kitchen salt) is naturally present in our body and in many foods, therefore it can never be “eliminated” from our diet and our life; if it were possible, we would get ourselves into trouble. But nevertheless our intake of salt must often be controlled. The World Health Organization states that the ideal dosage of salt is 1 gram per day, while in advanced countries, the average daily intake is almost 15 grams per day. An excessive amount of salt can immediately be seen in cases of hypertension. A person who eats too much salt retains too much water, has swollen ankles, has troubles breathing (asthma), retains too much water. The premenstrual syndrome is a good example of temporary excess of water and those who experience it know that they can lose up to a kilo of liquid from one day to the next.
The situation becomes complicated when someone is also hypersensitive to natural salicylates, which are present in many foods, especially fruit and vegetables. A person bleeds easily (a typical effect of aspirin), immediate or chronic itching, heavy breathing (asthma) and, strangely enough, analgesics act in the opposite way as how they are intended.
A person with these intolerances is swollen and heavy; asthma and hypertension are combined with the respiratory problems caused by salicylates, making it doubly hard to breathe. The skin is made rough by nickel and irritated by itching, gums and mucosa bleed. When this person has a headache and takes pain killer, he feels even worse.
What does “avoiding nickel, salicylates and salt” mean?
It's impossible to completely avoid contact with nickel. Ideally, the goal is to stay as far away from it as possible. The realistic approach is to observe a control diet that reduces the consumption of foods that contain the greatest quantity (cocoa, tomato, pear...) and rotate them in such a way that the body isn't “overloaded”.
Salicylates are also naturally present in many foods and therefore cannot be eliminated: just make sure to regulate your intake, following your doctor's instructions with regard to your personal tolerance “level”.
In both cases (your doctor clearance provided), it's possible to effectively supplement the diet with low dose hyposensitizing vaccines that allow an easier contact with foods and objects that contain these substances.
Concerning salt, things are not so easy. Many prepared foods, even unsuspected ones like sweets, contain quantities of salt that we really ought to avoid. It's true that 100 grams of ham contain 5 grams of salt, but did you know that 100 grams of bread contain 4 grams?
How can a person manage the nickel, salicylates and salt diet?
It's not difficult to keep salicylates under control, you just need to rotate foods which contain a high amount, avoiding to eat them all during the same day.
Concerning nickel, the main problem is presented by industrial fats, (hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated), present in almost all manufactured foods. You can avoid these by using only high quality virgin oil (olive, or single seed), cold pressed and used raw. Canned foods (tinplate) should also be avoided, and glass containers should be preferred.
Especially at the beginning, the salt control diet requires a healthy dose of skepticism towards all pre-packaged foods. You need to foresee a few days of adaptation before your sense of taste becomes attuned to the new taste levels. Sometimes, after a person has reduced salt for health purposes, they don't go back to using it because food tastes better.
Suggested diets
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