Sodium...Should I worry about it?

bound4beauty

I've been a little lazy lately and eating more processed, packaged food than I normally do. I convinced myself that because it came from Trader Joe's it was okay But even when I cook from scratch, I LOVE soy sauce and find that it can make even the most boring food taste good. I buy the low sodium version but it's still pretty high. I gave up lunch meat for the same reason. Even Boarshead low sodium meat has a ton of sodium.

Do I need to worry about it? Do you guys worry about it? I really enjoyed my frozen pizza tonight even though it put me way over my sodium limit.

susannamarie

oops

Melissa26point2

I worry about it. I have borderline high blood pressure though, so that is the main reason. I notice huge bloating and swelling if I go over about 2,500 mg / day. In the last 6 months, I have REALLY been watching it. I eat pretty clean (I'd say 90%), so it's easy to keep the sodium down. I've even noticed that processed foods that I used to love taste waaaay to salty to me now. I guess the taste buds really adjust when you take it away for long enough.

alanlmarshall

Depending on genetics there can be good reason to limit sodium. Tricking your scale to make it seem like your body fat is lower is not one of those good reasons.

SideSteel

I've been a little lazy lately and eating more processed, packaged food than I normally do. I convinced myself that because it came from Trader Joe's it was okay But even when I cook from scratch, I LOVE soy sauce and find that it can make even the most boring food taste good. I buy the low sodium version but it's still pretty high. I gave up lunch meat for the same reason. Even Boarshead low sodium meat has a ton of sodium.

Do I need to worry about it? Do you guys worry about it? I really enjoyed my frozen pizza tonight even though it put me way over my sodium limit.

My personal opinion is that if you have high blood pressure or any other medical reason to limit sodium, then you should limit sodium. If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I don't even look at my sodium typically. If I go through some bloating periods I may take a look at it to draw conclusions but beyond that I don't bother with it.

I've not been convinced that it's important aside from the outlined circumstances but if someone can convince me otherwise, I'm all ears.

Sarauk2sf

I've been a little lazy lately and eating more processed, packaged food than I normally do. I convinced myself that because it came from Trader Joe's it was okay But even when I cook from scratch, I LOVE soy sauce and find that it can make even the most boring food taste good. I buy the low sodium version but it's still pretty high. I gave up lunch meat for the same reason. Even Boarshead low sodium meat has a ton of sodium.

Do I need to worry about it? Do you guys worry about it? I really enjoyed my frozen pizza tonight even though it put me way over my sodium limit.

My personal opinion is that if you have high blood pressure or any other medical reason to limit sodium, then you should limit sodium. If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I don't even look at my sodium typically. If I go through some bloating periods I may take a look at it to draw conclusions but beyond that I don't bother with it.

I've not been convinced that it's important aside from the outlined circumstances but if someone can convince me otherwise, I'm all ears.

^^this. I only have it on my tracking to see if it explains any bloat, but I do not limit it or pay attention to it for any other reason than data.

MinimalistShoeAddict

As a runner, sodium is important. My concern is getting enough to support my exercise

"Sodium helps regulate the body's fluid levels," says Bob Seebohar, R.D., director of sports nutrition at the University of Florida. The loss of salt is also connected to other running problems, including cramping and hyponatremia, a rare and potentially fatal condition in which overhydration leads to low blood-sodium levels. So how much salt should runners ingest?

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-runners/pass-salt?page=single

DopeItUp

I've been a little lazy lately and eating more processed, packaged food than I normally do. I convinced myself that because it came from Trader Joe's it was okay But even when I cook from scratch, I LOVE soy sauce and find that it can make even the most boring food taste good. I buy the low sodium version but it's still pretty high. I gave up lunch meat for the same reason. Even Boarshead low sodium meat has a ton of sodium.

Do I need to worry about it? Do you guys worry about it? I really enjoyed my frozen pizza tonight even though it put me way over my sodium limit.

My personal opinion is that if you have high blood pressure or any other medical reason to limit sodium, then you should limit sodium. If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I don't even look at my sodium typically. If I go through some bloating periods I may take a look at it to draw conclusions but beyond that I don't bother with it.

I've not been convinced that it's important aside from the outlined circumstances but if someone can convince me otherwise, I'm all ears.

I feel the same way. I average around 3000-3500mg a day, with spikes up to 5000 on "bad" days (once or twice a week usually). Doesn't seem to affect anything except for some brief water weight gain. My BP when last tested was 116/66 which is excellent.

Chief_Rocka

Most people shouldn't. I do make an effort to eat potassium rich foods.

At that very least, I think sodium recommendations should be scaled with calorie intake. I'd love (and by "love" I mean "hate") to see the diary of a male bulking on 3,500 calories that stays below 2,500 mg of sodium...or 1,500 mg if he's black.

Sarauk2sf

Most people shouldn't. I do make an effort to eat potassium rich foods.

At that very least, I think sodium recommendations should be scaled with calorie intake. I'd love (and by "love" I mean "hate") to see the diary of a male bulking on 3,500 calories that stays below 2,500 mg of sodium...or 1,500 mg if he's black.

I can easily be below 2,500mg on my 3,000 cal days! It's all that clean eating I do!!!

The_Enginerd

Just something to add to this that was passed on to me last month:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/health/panel-finds-no-benefit-in-sharply-restricting-sodium.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The gist was the latest studies did not find any benefit to going below 2300 mg, it was actually harmful to go lower.

Sarauk2sf

Locking for now so we can keep track of active threads. Please PM either myself or SideSteel if you have further questions, including a link to this thread, and we will unlock it so you can post.