Ideas, tips, tricks for making salt-free diet bearable?

My father has just been put on a severly salt-restricted diet for life. This seems to him the cardboard cherry atop the privation sundae that has made the last few years an increasing trial.

I know that people have discussed cooking around this restriction from time to time, but my search for topic threads was not effective.

My instinct is to look at marinating and saucing with more aggressive use of acids and tartness and fresh herbs to try to make up for the lack of salt. But, if anyone has specific ideas, recipes, techniques to share, I'd love to hear them and pass them on to mom.

Is MSG useful, or does it just enhance the presence of salt that you've already used in a dish? No salt, no effect?

MSG has sodium and is more than likely something that should be restricted as well.

I think there are threads here on the subject, but I've found that acidity helps a lot - in particular lemon juice and lemon zest help wake up the palate. It's like going low-fat, or vegan, or anything else: I don't see the point in salt-free pretzels or a potato chips, but there are all kinds of foods that don't really need the salt anyway: better to go that route than settling.

I was interested to find that when canning tomatoes this year, they didn't need added salt. Flavorful and in-season helps a lot (I suppose preserved, too - but that depends on how carefully things are chosen in the first place.)

Here's one - Salt and health and another: low sodium eating and cooking.

Yup, acids and spices are your friends.

A collection of interesting vinegars: pomegranate, coconut, herbed, fruited, a high-end balsamic... should be on your holiday gift list

Make sure that limes and lemons are on your shopping list every single week

Fresh chiles, garlic and ginger are serious flavor enhancers, but may not be to his cup of tea (ginger tea? yes. garlic tea? not so much)

I am a lower sodium person, and I can attest to the fact that one's palate will adjust fairly quickly to lower sodium foods.

My first suggestion would be to write a list of foods that Dad loves that do not have extra sodium in them.
FOCUS ON THOSE FOODS for starters.

My personal list is mostly about seasonal fruits. I literally gorge on fruits when they are in season, and I tell you what, a fruit at the height of its season is a beautiful thing. I also LOVE granola.

Tips:
Sour cream eases my salt cravings

A great sauce I came up with also eased my need for salt: A tiny bit of balsamic vinegar, evoo, lemon juice, and unsalted butter sprinkled with a bit of parmesan (depending no how much sodium is restiricted.) For some reason, the tang + the fat gave a mouthfeel and flavor that eased my salt wants.

This was just a quick posting about what works for me, but I have heard from many, many others that your palate will adjust, and for me it is definitely true. I literally cringe at the thought of eating regular potato chips or green olives.

I too have to eat a low sodium diet and it was thrust upon me about 1.5 years ago.

Not to get too personal but what did the healthcare people/dieticians say was the amount of sodium he could have per day?