Eating A Low-salt Diet For Ménière's Disease

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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 U.S. daily value for sodium is 2,300 mg per day, while the typical U.S. diet 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: Lightheadedness and Vertigo
• Labyrinthitis
• Vestibular Neuronitis

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Last updated:	November 07, 2006
Author:	Ralph Poore
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Barrie J. Hurwitz, MD - Neurology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman