Meniere's disease is a disease that affects the inner ear. People
who have this disease suffer from balance and hearing problems. The
endolymphatic sac becomes swollen in the canal of people who have this
disorder. The sac serves as a filter and removes fluids in the
semicircular canals of the inner ear.
Experts don't know the
actual cause of Meniere's disease, but they believe that head injuries,
middle ear infections, and syphilis are sometimes related causes. Other
factors that may contribute or worsen the disease include allergies,
alcohol usage, fatigue, viral illness, respiratory infection, smoking,
stress, certain medications and high sodium diets.
Statistics show
that Meniere's disease is affecting approximately 2 out of every 1,000
people and about 12 per 1000 people worldwide. This means there are
about a half million sufferers in the US alone. Approximately 75% of the
people affected have it in just one ear while about 25% have it in both
ears. It has a tendency is to strike people in their 40s and 50s with a
few cases of people in their 20s, and no reports affecting children.
Meniere's
disease has a variety of common symptoms that may be related to other
health concerns. It is always best to consult a doctor if you think you
may have this disease.
Common symptoms are:

• Sudden onsets of vertigo which can be a whirling sensation or feeling like the room is spinning (not really dizziness)
  
• Nausea
  
• Vomiting
  
• Sweating
  
• Symptoms of tinnitus, which is a roaring, ringing, buzzing, whistling, or hissing sound in the ear
  
• Hearing loss
  
• Fullness or pressure in the ear
  

These symptoms may last for a brief period of time, hours
and sometimes even days. Over time this causes progressive hearing loss
upwards of 50 to 90 percent. There are a variety of tests that doctors
perform including caloric stimulation, head CT scan/head MRI scan and
hearing tests.
At this time there is no actual cure for Meniere's
disease, but there are ways that people can manage it effectively and
they include:

• Water pills
  
• Dimming bright lights
  
• Avoiding activities that can cause vertigo with sudden changes in movement
  
• Following a low sodium diet
  

Perhaps one of the easiest and most effective ways of
easing the symptoms of this disease is by following a low sodium diet.
Lowering your daily sodium intake is believed to be an effective way to
reduce symptoms of vertigo, helps to alleviate pressure in the ear, and
other symptoms.
You may not think that you consume that much
sodium, but upon a closer look you will probably find that there is a
lot of sodium in things that you may not even think about including the
seasonings that you use in your foods. It's not just about eliminating
salt, at the table or when cooking, although this should be the first
step. It's that salt and sodium seems to be in just about everything.
There is a lot of hidden salt and sodium in everyday food especially
processed food, fast food, even breads and pastries that you might not
think of at first. There is a lot of sodium in most seasonings, flavor
packets, canned soups, even if they don't taste too salty, there is
usually more sodium than you might think.
Using salt free
seasonings, a good salt substitute, reading the sodium amounts on food
labels along with the serving sizes and becoming more aware and
knowledgeable of which foods are high in sodium, can help you get the
salt out of your diet and thereby lowering your daily sodium intake.
This can lower fluid retention which is necessary for most to
effectively manage this potentially debilitating disorder. Salt free
seasonings can help you enjoy more flavorful food and a low sodium diet
can help you successfully cope with vertigo, tinnitus, and other
symptoms of Meniere's disease.

And now for more low sodium tips, recipes and information about
how to create a more flavorful low sodium diet,

Get more free information about low sodium, including a low sodium diet,
low sodium cooking tips, salt free seasonings, salt substitutes and low
sodium recipes. You'll learn how you can use seasonings, fresh herbs,
fresh fruits & vegetables, olive oil, nuts, vinegars, wine and
different cooking techniques to flavor your food without adding salt and
sugar. You'll find out how to get more flavor than you ever thought
possible.
From Debbie Benson owner of Benson's Gourmet Seasonings
with over 30 years experience promoting salt free seasonings. Loving to
cook and being salt free most of my life by choice, I have learned a lot
of tips and tricks to create flavor without salt and sugar that seems
to be in everything these days.




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Debbie_Benson


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