Sodium.

hulkfitdonuts
hulkfitdonuts Posts: 31 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
Is it good or bad??
«1

Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    You'd die without it so my vote is for good.

    What he said.
  • hulkfitdonuts
    hulkfitdonuts Posts: 31 Member
    I saw an article saying it is very important but they were talking about taking huge amounts. Says it helps joints and whatnot
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    If you don't have high blood pressure, a little extra sodium is probably fine. If you do, then sticking to the recommended limits is probably a good idea. Overall, we as a nation eat a lot of sodium. I go over sodium often, but after tracking it for the last 15 months, I have a pretty good idea that I ate a LOT more sodium before. Probably easily double the recommendations on a daily basis.

    I'm not an expert, but for myself, I like to keep an eye on it, but I don't necessarily restrict it. For my husband who has extremely high BP and who is working on hopefully reducing/possibly getting off meds, it's a different story. We do find it difficult to stay under the recommendations, even with fresh, whole foods, but it's a work in progress. At the very least, like me, he's consuming a lot less.

    Salt can actually raise blood pressure, so you don't have to already have high bp for it to effect you. Plus there can be no symptoms of high bp so unless you get it checked regularly you may not even know you have it and constantly over eating salt could be making it worse.
  • fr33sia12 wrote: »
    If you don't have high blood pressure, a little extra sodium is probably fine. If you do, then sticking to the recommended limits is probably a good idea. Overall, we as a nation eat a lot of sodium. I go over sodium often, but after tracking it for the last 15 months, I have a pretty good idea that I ate a LOT more sodium before. Probably easily double the recommendations on a daily basis.

    I'm not an expert, but for myself, I like to keep an eye on it, but I don't necessarily restrict it. For my husband who has extremely high BP and who is working on hopefully reducing/possibly getting off meds, it's a different story. We do find it difficult to stay under the recommendations, even with fresh, whole foods, but it's a work in progress. At the very least, like me, he's consuming a lot less.

    Salt can actually raise blood pressure, so you don't have to already have high bp for it to effect you. Plus there can be no symptoms of high bp so unless you get it checked regularly you may not even know you have it and constantly over eating salt could be making it worse.

    Mine's been checked regularly. I've been weighing in monthly at the doctor since starting my weight loss. It's fine. I could mainline caffeine, and it would still be fine. I went from 160/90 before losing weight to borderline normal after losing 10-15% to 110/60 without changing my salt habits. Less stuff from a box, though, so my overall sodium consumption went down quite a bit.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    there is no magic to Himalayan pink salt...

    Agreed, except for the flavor. It's yummy! Tastes less salty than table salt for the same amount.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    there is no magic to Himalayan pink salt...

    Agreed, except for the flavor. It's yummy! Tastes less salty than table salt for the same amount.

    I use Morton's Lite salt for that very reason. 55% potassium chloride, 45% sodium chloride (roughly), and doesn't cost an absurd amount. Still iodized as well, and doesn't taste quite as salty, so to speak.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Easy to check if you have hypertension. If you do, talk to a doctor and see if you should avoid salt. If you don't, I wouldn't sweat it.

    Speaking of sweat, if you do endurance athletics, you need to make sure to eat enough salt - people who go on long endurance activities are prone to low blood sodium, which unlike high blood sodium can lead to an emergency requiring immediate attention.
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  • grannynot
    grannynot Posts: 146 Member
    The thing that I notice about salt: eating at restaurants, they tend to oversalt the food; and I'll retain water and gain a pound the next day, even though I've eaten within my calorie allotment. It's just water, it goes away; but clearly my body reacts to too much of it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    too much can be bad...too little is bad (it's an essential electrolyte)...as with most things, the truth is somewhere in between. Also, the more active you are, the more you would need. I had major issues when I first got started with this good livin' stuff and tried to avoid sodium while doing a bunch of endurance work...cramps like crazy...upped the sodium and that fixed that problem.
  • bshrom
    bshrom Posts: 71 Member
    OK in moderation. I thought I was having to much salt so I decided to do a little experiment and didn't put any extra salt on my food for 2 days and I lost 4 pounds. That right there tells me that I was retaining water from way to much salt. So as I said ok in moderation.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Depends on how much you get and your condition.
    It occurs naturally in many foods. You may be surprised.
    It is easy to eat a high sodium diet. It is harder to eat a very, very low sodium diet.
    It is probably best to moderate your intake.
    I have never read that a high sodium intake (above 2,300 mg a day) really helps anyone.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Salt is essential. Too much can be deadly. Like so many things in nature, it's a balancing act.

    I'd doubt the claims of those authors who suggest that super-salting will help with "joints and whatnot".
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    Depends on how much you get and your condition.
    It occurs naturally in many foods. You may be surprised.
    It is easy to eat a high sodium diet. It is harder to eat a very, very low sodium diet.
    It is probably best to moderate your intake.
    I have never read that a high sodium intake (above 2,300 mg a day) really helps anyone.

    It does those of us in a fat adapted state, who have extremely high water cycling, due to a near total lack of glycogen stores. I generally pee somewhere between 15-16 times per day. Also just had a fun Sodium crash in the gym, including dizziness, numb face, severe cramps etc. Got home thirty minutes later feeling like death, put down 4300 grams of Sodium in some Menudo, and within five minutes, I'm ready to head back to the gym.
  • Shull_rachael
    Shull_rachael Posts: 430 Member
    edited February 2017
    We all need to consume a certain amount of sodium. So I'd say good that being said anything in excess is bad for you.
  • kinesiologic
    kinesiologic Posts: 22 Member
    Like most things, it's a matter of moderation -- even water can kill you if you drink too much. Sodium is super important for physiological functions - like nerve impulses and regulating body fluids.

    The better question is "How much sodium is too much?" -- which is a ripe debate. The Canadian food guide suggests 3400 mg/day. The value, as a dietician friend stated, is actually considered to be a toxic dose. Adults should actually aim for 1500 mg/day.

    The reason for the high number is that we get SO much sodium in our food that 1500 mg/day is widely unrealistic. In making health recommendations, the experts have to balance both the scientific facts and what's possible for people to do. Right now, it's felt that most people can manage 3400 mg/day. With time, advocacy, and regulation, hopefully we'll see that number shrink.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    edited February 2017
    Its an essential element. Don't waste any hand wringing over salts!

    Cramps, fainting spells and dizziness can be caused by LOW sodium levels. Balance sodium with potassium, electrolytes are important.

    Heat, high activity, undereating are reasons to increase sodium usually.

    edit add: if you are doing low carb, extra salt may be necessary.
  • N_G_H
    N_G_H Posts: 5 Member
    Most days on MFP I am way under on my sodium. Not sure how to increase it and also not sure if it's causing any problems not getting my RDI. Any thoughts?
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    For those on a Standard American Diet: For many many years, study after study was published showing a correlation between a high sodium diet and an increased risk of heart disease. Also, for many many years, studies were published showing a correlation between a low potassium diet and in increased risk of heart disease. Finally, after many decades of the media picking up on the sodium studies and telling everyone to avoid sodium, a study was done that looked at both sodium and potassium (I don't have th details handy, but shouldn't be too hard to find). The result was that those who ate high levels of sodium did not exhibit the same increase in heart disease risk if their potassium levels were also high. Likewise, those with low sodium intake and very low potassium intake still had a high risk of heart disease. As it turns out, it isn't necessarily high sodium that increases your risk for heart disease - it is a high ratio of sodium to potassium.

    For those of us on very low carb diets: Sodium is essential and necessary in large quantities. I know about the short-term problems of low sodium for us, but haven't seen any research on long-term effects of taking in sufficient sodium to avoid "keto flu" in the short term. I would be interested if anyone is aware of such research because I plan to continue a low carb diet for probably a majority of the remainder of my life.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Like most things, it's a matter of moderation -- even water can kill you if you drink too much. Sodium is super important for physiological functions - like nerve impulses and regulating body fluids.

    The better question is "How much sodium is too much?" -- which is a ripe debate. The Canadian food guide suggests 3400 mg/day. The value, as a dietician friend stated, is actually considered to be a toxic dose. Adults should actually aim for 1500 mg/day.

    The reason for the high number is that we get SO much sodium in our food that 1500 mg/day is widely unrealistic. In making health recommendations, the experts have to balance both the scientific facts and what's possible for people to do. Right now, it's felt that most people can manage 3400 mg/day. With time, advocacy, and regulation, hopefully we'll see that number shrink.

    Can you post a link to the Canada Food Guide that says 3400 mg sodium? All I can find is 2300 mg as a recommendation.
  • kinesiologic
    kinesiologic Posts: 22 Member
    Ah! My apologies ... That was me not reading carefully enough. The national average for sodium consumption is 3400 mg/day. The current goal is 2300 mg/day.

    http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/sodium/index-eng.php

    Recommendations by age group here: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrients/sodium/sodium-basics.html
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    It's delicious, one of my great food crushes; I sweat lots, my BP is fine, I get silly big amounts of potassium in the form of veggies & fruits . . . so I vote "good", for me.

    I think it's one of those n=1, and within reason, things . . . so you need to decide for you.
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