Any ideas how to even out a high sodium diet?

MsSleeth

The suggestion for increasing sodium levels really depends on the cause of having low sodium levels. You can lose sodium from over-hydration when sodium is continually being flushed out of the body, exercise-associated depletion, illness that result in vomiting and diarrhea, and from a variety of medical conditions.The treatment really depends on the cause, and since it sounds like yours is a medically caused situation, then it is very important that you treat it correctly.

One treatment increases sodium while restricting fluids.

Another treatment requires monitoring so sodium levels increase slowly and avoids sudden sharp increases.

It sounds like your recommended treatment focuses on hydration with a fluid containing liquid, electrolyte (sodium and potassium), and carbohydrates (sugar). Besides restoring electrolytes and carbohydrates, the sodium and sugar actually help increase your body's ability to absorb the fluid. From your body's perspective, sugar and other carbohydrates are just glucose in the the bloodstream. With the help of insulin, glucose enters your cells, brains, and tissues. It is the primary and preferred source of energy for your cells and brain. If a sports drink is being used to treat low sodium levels, then just consider the sugar that is also in it as one source of your daily carbohydrates. The rest should come mainly from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fiber.

According to the label, 1 serving of original Gatorade has about 14 grams of carbohydrate (sugar), 110 mg of sodium, 30 mg of potassium, and 50 calories.

While there are some opposing views about carbohydrate needs, most medical professionals recommend that carbohydrates be 45 - 65% of the total daily calories, with at least a minimum of 130 grams per day. For a 2000 calorie diet, that is 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates, and for a 1500 calorie diet, that is about 175 to 250 grams, or 700 to 1000 calories. 1 gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories. Ideally you want to space these carbohydrates throughout the day by taking in smaller, more frequent meals.

You can also get the fluid/electrolyte/carbohydrate combination from soup (this can have 8 times the sodium of a sports drink, which might be a too rapid of a sodium rise) and from milk (my nutrition professor says chocolate milk/soy milk/almond milk are especially good for rehydrating athletes). There are also plenty of foods with higher sodium levels if you need to increase sodium but not fluids.

You have two goals here: increase sodium and lose weight. Rather than following our recommendations, I suggest you do exactly what your cardiologist prescribes for now because low sodium levels can have bad consequences. But you should also ask the cardiologist to recommend a nutritionist counselor who can work with you on your specific diet so you can address your needs and goals. And it helps that you are using MyFitnessPal because this gives your nutritionist a good starting point.

dawn_h_d

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I never looked at it that way, MsSleeth. That makes a lot of sense. I guess for the time being, I am going to watch my sugar intake and look at the amount in two ways - one with and one without the gatorade sugars. It doesn't mean that I am going to max out my sugar intake after taking the gatorade sugar grams out, but it might help me not get as discouraged seeing that number going in the red everyday.

MsSleeth

Also keep in mind that it is very common for people to go over their sugar limit with MyFitneesPal. It is kind of misleading because they lump healthy fruit and milk sugars with refined, added sugar. I almost reach my limit with just a banana and a glass of milk in the morning. Some days I am we'll under the limit, and some days I am completely over without consuming any added sugars. So I don't worry about it as long as I know that the majority of my sugar comes from natural, healthy sources, and only a small amount ocassionally comes from added sources, like the small piece of dark chocolate I enjoy once a week.

paintlisapurple

How about some of those "diet" type frozen foods???? I've always avoided them because of the sodium, but maybe this would actually be of some help in your situation.
Canned soups and broths may also be beneficial for you.