HAL and Swollen Ankles

I have noticed that every time I am on a HAL ship within 24 hours of embarkation, my ankles and my fingers swell up. I believe it probably has to do with a higher salt content in the food served on board.

I have asked for a low salt diet, and order dinner the night before, but I still have this problem. Possibly because of food eaten at the buffet for lunch.

Am I the only one with this problem? We have been on many other cruise ships and I have never had this problem.

I've never heard of this happening before...This is the first.

It is quite common on cruise ships. I don't think anyone has an exact answer why it happens. I've heard people say it is too much salt in the food, drinking the ships water (if desalinated) and a few other things.

It has to be the sodium. After my husband and I switched to a low sodium diet (1500mg or less per day) how much sodium is in our food. Soups, baked goods, salad dressings, sauces, etc. A small bowl of soup can be more than our daily allowance. A small dinner roll can have almost 500mg in it and that's without butter. The normal daily allowance is recommended to be 2200mg to 2500mg or less. The solution is to reduce sodium intake and drink a lot of water to flush any extra sodium out.

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I don't find the food overly salty. In fact, I think they have toned it down.

I do find that if I wear proper shoes, ie walking, running etc., my ankles don't swell as much.

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I have noticed that every time I am on a HAL ship within 24 hours of embarkation, my ankles and my fingers swell up. I believe it probably has to do with a higher salt content in the food served on board.

I have asked for a low salt diet, and order dinner the night before, but I still have this problem. Possibly because of food eaten at the buffet for lunch.

Am I the only one with this problem? We have been on many other cruise ships and I have never had this problem.

Yes! Of course sodium is in the food at breakfast and lunch and every other meal or snack you have on board. You have to assume that every prepared food on board has some salt in it - from the oatmeal in the morning to the pasta at the buffet - even the baked goods. And those "low sodium meals" at dinner aren't completely salt free either unless you specify NO SALT. I haven't had much success with NO SALT with HAL but I have on other lines. Personally I prefer some other lines when the dining room manager discusses the menu with you than the current HAL method of the waiter simply handing you a printed menu for you to make you selection.

And finally, and I'm sure to be flamed, but other than 1 cup of coffee in the morning I do not drink any of the ship's water - only bottled. No sodas and especially limit your alcohol intake - all have the swollen ankle effect.

Again, some people will say all of the above is nonsense, but if you have serious health issues complicated by high sodium intakes, it pays to be vigilant.

Also be careful of the bottled water. Some of them have sodium in them.

Our water at home is horrible and many of us drink bottled water. I started to notice my ankles swelling and looked at the label on the bottled water -- contains sodium.

It’s due to travel in general. You are certainly eating more salt and drinking more alcohol than you do at home. All of this contributes to your swollen ankles. Also if you fly to your embarkation port, you’ve already gotten a head start on retaining water if you sit on an airplane for an extended period of time. The best solution is to keep moving and to drink plenty of water. If you’re not peeing every hour, you’re not drinking enough water! So as soon as your ankles start to swell, drink more water (a lot) and keep drinking it until you need to pee! And keep moving or elevate your ankles. As a last resort, you can always ask your doctor for a diuretic to take with you when you travel.

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It’s due to travel in general. You are certainly eating more salt and drinking more alcohol than you do at home. All of this contributes to your swollen ankles. Also if you fly to your embarkation port, you’ve already gotten a head start on retaining water if you sit on an airplane for an extended period of time. The best solution is to keep moving and to drink plenty of water. If you’re not peeing every hour, you’re not drinking enough water! So as soon as your ankles start to swell, drink more water (a lot) and keep drinking it until you need to pee! And keep moving or elevate your ankles. As a last resort, you can always ask your doctor for a diuretic to take with you when you travel.

If you are peeing hourly, you should seek medical advice!

DW and I have the same issue and it happens on just about any cruise (not just HAL). Our physician thinks it primarily because of the higher salt content in commercial cooking and the tendency to not keep our legs up as much as when home. Over the years we have learned of some solutions that do partially help. The most important is to drink lots of fluids which helps flush sodium from your system. Another very interesting idea comes from a physician who used to post on CC. A few years ago he suggested that spending a few hours standing in the swimming pool :). This really works. The water pressure on your feet and legs helps force the excess fluids out of your tissue and back into the lymph system. The first time we even tried this we started chatting with a few ladies who were also standing in the pool. One of them said to me, "came in the pool because of swollen ankles?" Was too funny. Who knew.

Hank

In the past others complained HAL food was "too bland" - which in fact would allow each passenger to adjust their own level of additional salting. There have often been threads about swelling while on board in the past.

I experience this sense of swelling too and have resorted to drinking only bottled mineral water, but any other use of water in food preparation will continue to add to these possible swelling issues if indeed the ship' water supply is an additional source of dietary sodium ( though claimed not to be, by those familiar with the ship's water distillation system).

The upside of this temporary onboard swelling sensation is any water-retention weight gain is quickly lost when returning home.

Agree, myths about drinking various amounts of water everyday beyond what your body's own self-regulation thirst messages are telling you belong in the junk science category. Necessary homeostasis of body's own electrolyte regulation system is negatively affected by artificial and excessive water consumption.

Your problem is real, and shared by many others, so don't let anyone tell you it isn't.

I'm convinced that besides the salt normally present in foods, and added in cooking, the taste buds become immune to the taste of salt because we are breathing in salt air. Could be a component of the swelling problem, since the sense of smell has such an impact on taste.

When cruising I double up on my diuretic every day, and for the first 2-3 days back home. I also keep my feet up as much as possible, and put a pillow (or the bed rolls some cabins have) under them when in the cabin.

I also use compression stockings, which help a great deal. Jobst puts out a good product, if you are interested in those. I wear them on every flight, and use them on the ship.

I had that problem on a NCL cruise last year, so was worried about my Panama Canal cruise in May on Zuiderdam. I drank enough bottled water to float the ship by myself, and I had no problem. I tried to eat lots of fresh fruit, especially watermelon, and put my feet up at every opportunity.

I got the evening menu in advance, but was because of shellfish allergy. I didn’t try to order with salt in mind, but evidently what I did seemed to work.

I know my Mother used to get the swollen feet on cruises, but the NCL cruise was the only one where I have had problems. I think part of it might be a product of the desalination process which might differ among ships/cruiselines. I certainly am no expert, and this is just my guess.

Lots of folks have water retention on cruises....the humidity? Salt air? Sodium in food? More or less activity than you're used to? Who knows?

The water on the ship has the sodium removed....don't think it's that! More likely the food....very salty, if you're used to less added salt!

I've found it to be a lot better when I drink bottled water rather than what they serve with meals. I think it's a combination of travel, heat, humidity, etc.

It definitely is a problem for you on HAL. The most likely culprit is increased sodium. Unfortunately, HAL is heavily reliant on processed and prepared foods and we all know that these foods can be high in sodium.

My advice to you is to be vigilant with what you consume. Qualifiers such as "low sodium" mean little. Accept that any menu items that contain a sauce, pasta or rice will contain high sodium. All baked goods such as breads, pastries, pies, and cookies are culprits. Salad dressings are most often commercial brands that contain lots of salt.

We avoid sugar and like salt, it may seem difficult to avoid on a cruise ship but it can be easily accomplished.

As others have stated, this is not a problem unique to HAL, or really cruising in general. Several of the suggestions already given can help lessen the symptoms.

Give up HAL breads? Sorry, no way. Hey, at least the butter is unsalted. My one main new dietary indulgence when onboard sailing, the delicious variety of HAL fresh dinner rolls. Bloat I shall. I am doomed.

HAL now offers all salad dressings on the side when ordering the dinner salad in the main dining room, so one gets a little more control over these additional sodium sources. But agree, who has access to salted nuts, popcorn, pizza, nachos, and Dive-In treats every single day at home. Sodium is everywhere on board and in vast supplies.

I can't speak for HAL specifically, but very little food on cruise ships is "prepared".

One problem with consuming ship's water is that distilled water, in addition to removing sodium, removes magnesium and potassium, which tend to regulate the body's sodium level, and therefore even low sodium water sources can cause you to retain sodium and hence water. Eating foods high in these elements like spinach, almonds, or cashew can alleviate this problem.

I always notice when my rings start getting too tight.

On our recent Alaska Explorer cruise, I did for the first time limit myself to bottled water only -- very little ship water. They say it's totally desalinated, but...who knows? Also, I tried to select baked goods and breads that aren't typically made with baking soda/baking powder. I bake enough myself to kind of know what may be in there, and there are plenty of things to eat without those ingredients.

Anyhow, it seemed to make a difference for me. I gained cruise weight, but not that weird puffy thing. I didn't swell up as much. This is, of course, just anecdotal, but these changes did seem to make a difference.

It is the water and the amount of salt that is used

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I can't speak for HAL specifically, but very little food on cruise ships is "prepared".

 

One problem with consuming ship's water is that distilled water, in addition to removing sodium, removes magnesium and potassium, which tend to regulate the body's sodium level, and therefore even low sodium water sources can cause you to retain sodium and hence water. Eating foods high in these elements like spinach, almonds, or cashew can alleviate this problem.

Interesting. Wonder if the use of potassium/magnesium supplements would make a difference - what are called "heart pills" - but only after judicious medical advice. https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/treatment-supplements

However, the thought of being forced to eat medicinal cashews every day would be my own drug of choice.

On my last cruise this past January, I didn’t puff up as much as in the past. The difference is that my lifestyle has changed. I’m way more active than in the past.

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If you are peeing hourly, you should seek medical advice!

Really? That’s what you took away from my response? Okay, maybe the literal “hourly” was a stretch. Does “frequently” work better for you?

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Really? That’s what you took away from my response? Okay, maybe the literal “hourly” was a stretch. Does “frequently” work better for you?

LOL. Yes, that lessens my concerns! :halo: