Can you have too little sodium?

sarko15

I get that a lot of people have too much sodium, but I wonder if I get too little. On a normal day, if I'm not eating out, I only consume like 500mg of sodium. I also try to drink about 66oz of water. I just never feel the need to salt my food very much, and I'm in my 20s at a low enough weight where I'm pretty sure blood pressure isn't an issue, but now I'm wondering if there are specific nutrients I'm missing/losing by constantly flushing my body with water and not eating much salt. Has anyone else experienced this or have more knowledge on the subject?

jgnatca

It looks like 1500 mg a day is advised. But it is pretty hard to go too low. Lots of foods have salt naturally, like celery.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/fda-recommended-sodium-intake-1873.html

You are not fainting from low blood pressure and I bet your tears are still salty.

I think you are OK.

lorrpb

Drinking water does not cause malnutrition. If you are concerned about your sodium or other nutrients, I would encourage to discuss with your physician. They can run some simple tests.

JeromeBarry1

The minerals you need include iron and all the metals lighter than iron. You can get too little sodium. This is a condition called hyponatremia. I caused this to myself by consuming less than 1500 mg sodium daily for 5 months. The symptoms were night-time foot cramps. I'd awaken in the middle of the night in pain. Instead of choosing to keep doing that, now I pop a few big grains of Himalayan pink salt before bed just to be sure I don't awaken with cramping pain. I discussed this with my doctor. She agreed that the low sodium was linked to the cramping. She recommended I consume 2 grams of salt each day. Most humans are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium helps with all kinds of nervous system processes, so either eat food high in Mg or supplement.
Calcium is important to maintain bone, teeth, and nervous system health.
Dairy is an excellent source of magnesium and calcium.

NeuronsNeuronsNeurons

YES! but I have a unique situation. my body is genetically REALLY good at getting rid of sodium [half full] (or REALLY poor at retaining it [half empty]). Going back 3 generations on my mother's side we all have ridiculously low blood pressure (90ish over 60ish regardless of weight or age). If you're low on salts your body will tell you, you will feel VERY sick (headache, dizziness, confusion, nausea, muscle cramping...I get really bad stomach cramping as well). All of these symptoms worsen if you drink water. If I sweat a lot during a workout (I sweat buckets naturally) I always make sure to "salt up" with chicken broth afterward. Most people have the opposite problem however and bloat up or retain water and/or are prone to high blood pressure.

PennWalker

sarko15 wrote: »

I get that a lot of people have too much sodium, but I wonder if I get too little. On a normal day, if I'm not eating out, I only consume like 500mg of sodium. I also try to drink about 66oz of water. I just never feel the need to salt my food very much, and I'm in my 20s at a low enough weight where I'm pretty sure blood pressure isn't an issue, but now I'm wondering if there are specific nutrients I'm missing/losing by constantly flushing my body with water and not eating much salt. Has anyone else experienced this or have more knowledge on the subject?

Yes, your sodium can be too low. I recently had a full blood test to check my cholesterol. It showed I am okay in most areas but my sodium was low (not low enough for the doctor to be concerned, but below normal). I don't eat a lot of processed food and don't put salt on my food, so that's probably why.

I bought some salt and some soy sauce, which is high in sodium, and have been using that -- so my sodium is probably normal now.

If you are concerned, you could ask your doctor for a blood test.

sarko15

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

The minerals you need include iron and all the metals lighter than iron. You can get too little sodium. This is a condition called hyponatremia. I caused this to myself by consuming less than 1500 mg sodium daily for 5 months. The symptoms were night-time foot cramps. I'd awaken in the middle of the night in pain. Instead of choosing to keep doing that, now I pop a few big grains of Himalayan pink salt before bed just to be sure I don't awaken with cramping pain. I discussed this with my doctor. She agreed that the low sodium was linked to the cramping. She recommended I consume 2 grams of salt each day. Most humans are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium helps with all kinds of nervous system processes, so either eat food high in Mg or supplement.
Calcium is important to maintain bone, teeth, and nervous system health.
Dairy is an excellent source of magnesium and calcium.

I do get leg and foot cramps, sometimes pretty badly that last for a few days when I go to higher altitudes. I took magnesium for a little while and stopped. Thanks for the reminder!

jennypapage

be careful,salt is usually fortified with iodine which is really important for the body and your thyroid function,and you don't want to get deficient in it.iodine is really hard to get from foods, so try to eat the recommended daily amount of salt.

snowflake954

jennypapaje wrote: »

be careful,salt is usually fortified with iodine which is really important for the body and your thyroid function,and you don't want to get deficient in it.iodine is really hard to get from foods, so try to eat the recommended daily amount of salt.

This is very true. Here in Italy iodine wasn't added to salt until about 10-15 years ago. They have a higher insidence of thyroid disease. I had the devil of a time finding salt with iodine added when I arrived.

Noreenmarie1234

NeuronsNeuronsNeurons wrote: »

YES! but I have a unique situation. my body is genetically REALLY good at getting rid of sodium [half full] (or REALLY poor at retaining it [half empty]). Going back 3 generations on my mother's side we all have ridiculously low blood pressure (90ish over 60ish regardless of weight or age). If you're low on salts your body will tell you, you will feel VERY sick (headache, dizziness, confusion, nausea, muscle cramping...I get really bad stomach cramping as well). All of these symptoms worsen if you drink water. If I sweat a lot during a workout (I sweat buckets naturally) I always make sure to "salt up" with chicken broth afterward. Most people have the opposite problem however and bloat up or retain water and/or are prone to high blood pressure.

Same here I've always had low BP (mom too) ~90/60 and I eat 15000+mg a day *hides in embarrassment* When I don't eat enough salt I feel terrible.

NeuronsNeuronsNeurons

Noreenmarie1234 wrote:

Same here I've always had low BP (mom too) ~90/60 and I eat 15000+mg a day *hides in embarrassment* When I don't eat enough salt I feel terrible.

I totally get it. We were told that there is likely a genetic variant that we have in renal aquaporins or sodium transporters which are also known to cause low blood pressure. We are well adapted to our modern world but our ancestors probably had a hard time finding enough salt

concavenotconvex

Yes, I have low blood pressure. Please be cautious of your salt I take, I've passed out a couple times from my blood pressure going too low. I don't enjoy salty foods, and if I know I start feeling clammy I make a mad dash for ramen or high sodium foods.