Coincidence? Or Correlation?

codename_steve

I had the absolute hardest time getting out of bed this morning! My body didn't wanna move, my eyes felt heavy/puffy, and my brain wasn't firing. Coffee didn't help. My blue happy light didn't help. Then I realized I've been around 3800mg of sodium for the last two days. So I drank half a serving of my Ketoade and almost instantly felt better. Should I start looking at 4000mg sodium as a minimum requirement each day, or is it just a coincidence?

GaleHawkins

In some shape of form I seem to ask myself these same two questions all of the time.

You are on the right track until you prove it is not the right track. When I cut out all processed foods I think I cut out more sodium than I realized. It took over a year for me to get my magnesium levels up to stop leg cramps and muscle spasms that had been an issue much of my life. Keep up asking yourself these kinds of questions and the answers will some with some experimenting with your WOE.

cstehansen

I am sharing this from a study on sodium which indicates nearly EVERYONE is better off with between 4000-6000 mg (4-6 g) of sodium per day. If you are keto, that need is especially important and may be even higher. Levels above 8 g are less harmful than those below 2 g.

Full study can be accessed on the New England Journal of Medicine website. You have to get a membership, but it is free. I downloaded and read the entire PDF. The title is "Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events."

The sample size was just under 102,000 people, so this was extensive and the evidence overwhelming that what the "experts" have been telling us about limiting sodium is bunk.

That advice was because a small subset of the 15% of the population that has HBP is sodium sensitive, so we should all limit sodium "just in case" without regard to whether or not that sodium limitation is harmful if we are in the vast majority of people who do not have sodium sensitive HBP.

KnitOrMiss

I found that 4000-6000 MG sodium was my target zone for normal/sedentary on LC (and seems to only go to 3000-5000 mg when SAD dieting, even), higher for more replacement during heavy effort, heavy sweating, or outdoor work.

codename_steve

Thanks guys! It's nice to have the validation that I'm on the right track I'll start looking at 4000 as a minimum for sodium and expect it to go red everyday!

KnitOrMiss

@codename_steve - you can actually go in and change your sodium number even in the non-premium version of MFP, if the red bothers you, just FYI.

ccrdragon

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

@codename_steve - you can actually go in and change your sodium number even in the non-premium version of MFP, if the red bothers you, just FYI.

yes you can - I currently have mine set at either 4000 or 5000 and use it as a minimum to strive for.

codename_steve

I did know that! Previously, while eating SAD, I was kinda afraid of sodium. So it's just a mental shift for me. After posting my latest comment I actually went and changed it to 5000 just to be safe. Thanks!