I never really thought much about salt before I started using the SparkPeople nutrition tracker more regularly a few months ago.

The only time that I was really aware that salt was a problem for me was once several months ago when I was eating these fabulous Utz organic multigrain pretzels almost every evening for a while, and then my arthritis worsened. I started getting a lot of swelling around my artificial knee, and that hurt! So I stopped eating those pretzels, even though everything else about them (other than the salt) made them a great snack.

When I first started using the nutrition tracker, I went over my salt range just about every day. But now I have had a streak of over two weeks with my salt level being in or below the range. Yay! I haven't even really tried that hard. I basically just choose foods that are nutritious, and I guess most of those don't have a lot of salt.

I'm doing well with no morning coffee, too. This is my second week of not having coffee first thing in the morning. I have learned to really treasure the cup I have in the afternoon. I take a real break. I stop at a coffee shop and read or journal or talk with a friend while having my one cup of coffee of the day. It's much more enjoyable than "the daily grind" of getting up to coffee every day!

It's hard to say yet whether reducing my salt and coffee intake is helping my arthritis...I've been doing lots of housework and gardening, and I've had a few aches and pains. But, then again, I've been able to do all that housework and gardening, so that's pretty good!