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salt: yes or no
Replies
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Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.
Actually cutting back on processed foods is probably the key. There is so much salt and sugar added to things that salt and sugar shouldn't even be in. I bet a lot of people wouldn't have to watch their salt if they cut back on the processed foods.1 -
Well, first and foremost, low sodium is very, very deadly - sodium is an absolutely essential electrolyte that your body cannot function without. Particularly if you work out / sweat a lot, you need to keep sodium levels up or risk hyponatremia.
High sodium can be problematic in people with certain medical conditions. Do you have one of those conditions? If your blood pressure and kidney function are normal, sodium is likely of zero concern to you. If not, talk to your doctor about whether you should reduce sodium.4 -
I was wondering too about why only sea salt. What if I like Himalayan pink salt?
Salt is implicated in both hypertension and hypotension? If you have hypotension, a little more salt can be a good thing.
Finally, there is a reason why table salt is iodised. I hope your family has an alternative source of iodine, barring any health reasons for avoiding it, of course.Vegplotter wrote: »mayoosh_primrose wrote: »First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?
Salt is the slimmers enemy because it causes you to retain water - causing weight gain and bloating. For this reason it is also implicated in high blood pressure, heart disease and hypotension.
Speaking as someone with low blood pressure (hypotension) and is on high sodium diet at my Dr's orders (as meds have too many side effects), I'd have to say you @Vegplotter really should do your research.1 -
I was wondering too about why only sea salt. What if I like Himalayan pink salt?
Salt is implicated in both hypertension and hypotension? If you have hypotension, a little more salt can be a good thing.
Finally, there is a reason why table salt is iodised. I hope your family has an alternative source of iodine, barring any health reasons for avoiding it, of course.Vegplotter wrote: »mayoosh_primrose wrote: »First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?
Salt is the slimmers enemy because it causes you to retain water - causing weight gain and bloating. For this reason it is also implicated in high blood pressure, heart disease and hypotension.
Speaking as someone with low blood pressure (hypotension) and is on high sodium diet at my Dr's orders (as meds have too many side effects), I'd have to say you @Vegplotter really should do your research.
Are you talking to me? Because I think you quoted the wrong person.
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No, was quoting who I tagged, the quote thing just grabbed too much and I'm on my phone's app. Sorry @JaneSnowe0
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No, was quoting who I tagged, the quote thing just grabbed too much and I'm on my phone's app. Sorry @JaneSnowe
Oh ok. I think it's partly my fault too because I put their quote at the end of my reply to them. It would be easy to mix up who said what.
I agree about needing to do more research.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.
Actually cutting back on processed foods is probably the key. There is so much salt and sugar added to things that salt and sugar shouldn't even be in. I bet a lot of people wouldn't have to watch their salt if they cut back on the processed foods.
Or they could read labels. I eat canned beans and tomatoes sometimes, for convenience and because fresh tomatoes can be tasteless out of season/non local. Apparently some canned tomatoes have added sugar (although I've not seen it personally) or salt, but you can avoid those easily. Similarly, lots of canned beans have lots of sodium, but you can avoid those and buy other brands. Still other processed foods, like dried pasta, tend to just be wheat -- I just checked a box, and no sodium, no sugar. Even some packaged meals that are focused on the health-conscious market (I don't buy these any more than any other packaged meal) can be low in sodium and sugar. It's important, IMO, to read labels and wrong to generalize about "processed foods."
Anyway, I also think the need to worry about this varies. I don't buy many things with lots of sodium/salt added, so I don't fret at all about the products I do purchase that are higher in sodium (cottage cheese, pickled items, smoked salmon). And similarly don't worry about adding salt in cooking. If one had risk factors/problem test results, was not active, or ate a diet low in potassium, none of which are concerns for me, one might need to be more restrictive (although improving potassium content seems more pleasant than getting super restrictive on salt).2 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.
Actually cutting back on processed foods is probably the key. There is so much salt and sugar added to things that salt and sugar shouldn't even be in. I bet a lot of people wouldn't have to watch their salt if they cut back on the processed foods.
Hell, I eat processed meats all the time, and I actually find myself struggling to get enough sodium some days. I'm starting to wonder if people who worry so much about salt content just sit around licking factory beef jerky and chips.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Your body needs salt. You will have serious and painful, possibly deadly, consequences if you don't get enough.
This isn't true. We need to consume sodium, not salt. Salt is just one way to get sodium. If you eat a well balanced diet you likely don't need any added salt, but unless you've been advised to abstain by a physician there is nothing wrong with adding it for flavor if you want.
Yes, that's true that it's actually sodium that we need.
But we do need to get enough of it or there are consequences which can cause pain and even death.
I mentioned in a different thread, a family member of mine was suffering severe leg cramps and one time even passed out during one of those attacks. The doctor discovered that his sodium level was far too low and prescribed salt pills to correct it, and told him to start adding more salt to his food. His habit previously had been to eschew salt because he didn't want to consume too much, but he ended up with the opposite problem.
Is there a big difference between ingesting sodium and ingesting sodium chloride?
Put some straight sodium in your mouth and let me know how it works out for you.
No, seriously, don't.
I'll bite. What would happen?
The sodium would react violently with the water inside your mouth, leading to rapid unplanned disassembly of your head.2 -
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
Because you don't go out every day (presumably). Just like everything else, having more of something every once in awhile is not an issue in most cases.2 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Your body needs salt. You will have serious and painful, possibly deadly, consequences if you don't get enough.
This isn't true. We need to consume sodium, not salt. Salt is just one way to get sodium. If you eat a well balanced diet you likely don't need any added salt, but unless you've been advised to abstain by a physician there is nothing wrong with adding it for flavor if you want.
Yes, that's true that it's actually sodium that we need.
But we do need to get enough of it or there are consequences which can cause pain and even death.
I mentioned in a different thread, a family member of mine was suffering severe leg cramps and one time even passed out during one of those attacks. The doctor discovered that his sodium level was far too low and prescribed salt pills to correct it, and told him to start adding more salt to his food. His habit previously had been to eschew salt because he didn't want to consume too much, but he ended up with the opposite problem.
Is there a big difference between ingesting sodium and ingesting sodium chloride?
Put some straight sodium in your mouth and let me know how it works out for you.
No, seriously, don't.
I'll bite. What would happen?
The sodium would react violently with the water inside your mouth, leading to rapid unplanned disassembly of your head.
S'okay. I already watched the video.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.
Actually cutting back on processed foods is probably the key. There is so much salt and sugar added to things that salt and sugar shouldn't even be in. I bet a lot of people wouldn't have to watch their salt if they cut back on the processed foods.
Hell, I eat processed meats all the time, and I actually find myself struggling to get enough sodium some days. I'm starting to wonder if people who worry so much about salt content just sit around licking factory beef jerky and chips.
When one is trying to keep the sodium intake under 1500mg is when it gets difficult if processed foods are being eaten. Been there on a doctor's remediation and it was hard even after cutting out the licking of factory beef jerky and chips! Now that my blood pressure is on the lower side I could probably pick up that habit if beef was cheaper here!
Currently I typically lose 2.5kg to 3.0kg of sweat a day from working out. I don't eat much in the way of processed foods, even though I use some processed foods in the food diary. So there are probably days I should be licking the salt of some chips.
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
Its only a shame that sodium is a necessity to your body. If you dont have enough there are a lot of issues that come with it.0 -
I try to keep my sodium low: add me to the list of people with a tendency toward high blood pressure. Salt is necessary, but there's certainly no shortage of it in our food these days. I'm an avid label-reader, and I cook without adding salt.
I believe, too, that a balance between sodium and potassium is a good thing: I try to maintain at least twice the potassium to sodium (which accounts for all the "potassium pill" entries that tend to appear in my tracking: I don't actually take all those pills, but they stand in for the often-missing values in the nutrition stats).2 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Ben Greenfield is a nutrition and fitness expert. He eats tons of salt: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/grain-salt-really-killing-insides/
How active you are matters. Greenfield does Ironman tris, and is super active.
I'm reasonably active and don't eat lots of store-bought stuff with high sodium, so freely use salt when cooking (just the regular kosher stuff) and don't track it at all.
Actually cutting back on processed foods is probably the key. There is so much salt and sugar added to things that salt and sugar shouldn't even be in. I bet a lot of people wouldn't have to watch their salt if they cut back on the processed foods.
Hell, I eat processed meats all the time, and I actually find myself struggling to get enough sodium some days. I'm starting to wonder if people who worry so much about salt content just sit around licking factory beef jerky and chips.
When one is trying to keep the sodium intake under 1500mg is when it gets difficult if processed foods are being eaten. Been there on a doctor's remediation and it was hard even after cutting out the licking of factory beef jerky and chips! Now that my blood pressure is on the lower side I could probably pick up that habit if beef was cheaper here!
Currently I typically lose 2.5kg to 3.0kg of sweat a day from working out. I don't eat much in the way of processed foods, even though I use some processed foods in the food diary. So there are probably days I should be licking the salt of some chips.
That's a fair point. 1500 is less than 30% of my daily sodium intake. My blood pressure has always been fairly low (even when I was 265 lbs.) and it's gotten a bit lower since I dropped weight. I'm almost convinced that without nicotine, caffeine, and high sodium levels, my arteries would have just given up and fallen in on themselves years ago.0 -
mayoosh_primrose wrote: »First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?
Not according to MFP or the National Institute of Health https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/followdash people should have no more than 2300 mg of sodium, which is a teaspoon of salt.1 -
ernestrodgers82 wrote: »mayoosh_primrose wrote: »First I heard that not consuming salt at all was the best for health, then I heard that no, a little salt was actually good for the body. So which is it? And why?
I'm currently consuming 0.5-1 teaspoon/day, is that too much?
Not according to MFP or the National Institute of Health https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/followdash people should have no more than 2300 mg of sodium, which is a teaspoon of salt.
Unfortunately, broad sweeping nutritional guidelines are incredibly inaccurate, and incredibly stupid. If their caloric recommendations can make some people fat, and/or be nowhere near enough for others, how do you expect them to get an electrolyte number right?2 -
Yes, I eat salt and plenty of it. Regular, sea salt, iodized, non iodized. I like salt on fish, eggs, veg and on watermelon.
I never worry about salt.2
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