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Low sodium diet

Posted by on

Hello all and thanks for all of your helpful advice.

I am on a medically imposed low sodium diet. It's not too difficult to deal with in the US - lots of salads, fresh veggies, grilled fish and meat with no sauces, etc.

Usually when we go out to eat at the local Italian restaurant I have a salad with oil/vinegar dressing on the side and either pasta primavera or a pasta dish cooked with garlic and olive oil. (Sometimes a salty broth might be added to either of these but I ask that be omitted).

Any suggestions for our upcoming trip to Northern Italy (Milan/Florence/Venice)? We will have an apartment in each location, so can do some of our own cooking, but would hate to lose out entirely on the local cuisine.

Google has suggested I print a card that says:

Niente sale, per favore. (No salt, please)

and

Io sono su una dieta a
basso contenuto di sale .
Questo contiene sale ? (I am on a low salt diet. Does this contain salt?)

and have been advised to ask "Senza sale".

Did I print those correctly?

Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

Posted by
500 posts

"Senza sale" is the clearest thing to tell. "Senza sale, sono a dieta" is easy and simple and gets the message.

Low sodium diet is correctly translated as "basso contenuto di sale", but I do not like the phrase. It seems to imply you can take a little salt - you probably can, but the less the better, so ask without salt at all.

It is difficult to tell what to do as the salt content depends on the cook; some keep salt low, letting you add it if you like; some add a lot of salt just as a simple move to add taste.

Bread in Florence and all over Tuscany (pane toscano) is baked without salt; Tuscan cheeses and ham are very salty just to complement their saltless bread.

Posted by
5308 posts

Asps is correct, I'd just add "please" to the above phrase or sentence.

"senza sale per favore" or you could say, "senza sale per favore come da consiglio del mio medico."--without salt please as per my doctor's advise.

Keep in mind that many of the sauces may be prepared ahead of time, so it may not be possible for the chef to make a
special order for you unless it's a fresh tomato sauce such as 'pomodoro'.

You can also eat fish that is simply grilled; "pesce alla griglia".

Branzino (European seabass) is a white fish commonly served in Northern Italy & my mom & I enjoyed it very much while visiting Lake Garda & Varenna.

Have a wonderful trip!

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