Eating a low-salt diet for Ménière's disease
Introduction
The vertigo (spinning sensation) experienced in Ménière's disease can be severe and debilitating. There is little you can do to change the intensity of an episode, but eating a low-sodium (salt) diet may help reduce the frequency of your episodes.
The recommended daily intake for sodium is 2,300 mg per day, while the typical diet in Canada and the United States includes about 4,000 mg of salt per day. Evidence exists that restricting salt to 1,000 mg per day may help those with Ménière's disease.
Eating less salt does not have to be difficult. Following are five keys to decreasing salt in your diet:
- Read labels, especially on processed foods, to see how much sodium (salt) foods contain.
- Ask for low-salt meals at restaurants.
- If you use canned vegetables, rinse them thoroughly.
- Call your local water company to find out the salt content of your water supply. If you drink bottled water, read the label and choose a salt-free brand.
- Don't add salt to your food.
What is the benefit of eating a low-salt diet?
Why should you follow a low-salt diet?
How do you limit the salt in your diet?
Where to get more information
More information about vertigo can be found in the following topics:
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
- Ménière's Disease
- Dizziness: Light-headedness and Vertigo
- Labyrinthitis
- Vestibular Neuronitis
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| Author: | Douglas Dana Sabra L. Katz-Wise Ralph Poore | Last Updated: January 11, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Barrie J. Hurwitz, MD - Neurology Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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