Cure Your Salt Hangover and Lose Big

As seen on January 9th, 2013 on:

written by The Nutrition Twins,

If getting back to post-holiday life has left you without much time or energy to meet your health resolutions, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are several simple ways to jumpstart your weight loss and see results quickly. And if you have been making healthy changes this year (kudos!), these tactics can aid in your continued success.

Last week we mentioned that salt may make you feel heavy and bloated. You’ve probably experienced this firsthand. Maybe the day after eating Chinese takeout you’ve noticed your fingers are puffy, you have bags under your eyes, or that you’ve put on a couple of pounds–you have what we like to call, a “salt hangover.”

When you have a “salt hangover,” your body is reacting to getting too much salt by holding on to water to maintain a proper sodium concentration by diluting some of it. As a result, you look bloated. The bloat remains until you drink enough water to wash out the sodium, or until you eat foods that are high in both water and potassium. Potassium also helps the body eliminate sodium (so it’s no surprise it keeps blood pressure in check and lowers your risk of stroke to boot!).

Last week we shared a few strategies for beating bloat, and told you we’d share some of the salt hangover cures from our book The Secret To Skinny. As promised, here are some of our pound-shedding and belly flattening “salt hangover” remedies.

Drink at least two cups of water: One with fresh-squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ lemon) and the other with fresh-squeezed orange juice (use 1/4 an orange). The water will flush out the excess sodium along with the water the sodium is holding onto. The fresh lemon and orange juice provide a hefty boost of potassium that will rid you of salt even faster.
Drink two cups of green tea and eat four dried plums. This combo fills you up with potassium, fluid and fiber to get rid of stomach irritants that may be lingering in the colon.
Drink two cups of The Nutrition Twins Salt Detox Juice (see recipe below), or 2 cups green tea, and eat 1 cup steamed spinach spritzed with lemon juice. Spinach is packed with potassium, and contains fiber to help push constipating foods out of the colon and slim down a bloated belly.
For your first meal following a salt hangover, eat: A three-ounce baked potato with 1 cup of steamed spinach, 4 ounces of halibut, and the juice from a lemon. With more potassium than a banana, the baked potato will quickly force salt out, while the root veggie’s fiber pushes toxins and other bloating culprits out of the colon. This helps create a flat belly. The provides even more potassium and fiber, while fish such as halibut or cod will round-out the meal with satiating protein and even more potassium.
Exercise! Sweat out salt, toxins, and bloat while boosting your body’s feel good chemicals (endorphins).

For more remedies that include digestive enhancers like The Nutrition Twins® Tea and Melon Cure and The Nutrition Twins Skinny Anti-bloat Broth see The Secret To Skinny.

The Nutrition Twins Salt Detox Juice