Too low sodium negative effects?

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roxo89
roxo89 Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I wondering if there are negative effects of a low sodium diet. How much sodium is too low for a human?

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  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    I'd stick the recommended 2,500mg unless advised by a doctor to lower it. And if your doctor does recommend a low sodium diet I'd even ask them if they're sure you'd benefit from less salt considering the latest report from the CDC. As for symtoms, I think fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and muscle cramps are all associated with not having enough salt but I could be wrong -- I didn't feel like goggling it, sorry!

    http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=18311
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    death by hyponatraemia is a negative side effect of too little sodium

    I read a study recently that suggested a healthy range to be in, I can't remember the exact range,but there were reported negative effects from too little sodium. The UK government/health authority suggests keeping intake below 6g, and the above person's suggestion of aiming for 2.5g sounds reasonable. I think the healthy range is between these too figures, or not far from that.

    Also, focus on sodium-potassium balance, you need about 6x more potassium than sodium, and many fruits and vegetables have sodium and potassium in the appropriate ratios, while tinned foods tend to be much higher in sodium and lower in potassium. So more reason to eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg. But don't fear sodium, it's not bad, just don't have tons and tons of it.
  • roxo89
    roxo89 Posts: 13 Member
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    I don't eat much of sodium rich foods well because I don't like my foods salty and I hardly eat processed food now. MFP records that I consume much less than 2,500mg but I believe that number might be a little miscalculated. Still I don't feel like it impacts my life in any way but I was really curious. No idea how many potassium I get though since many food listings are not accurate in that.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Under 2000 and especially under 1500 mg a day may lead to serious health effects or death.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    just a question... why do Americans always list sodium in 1000s of mg, not g?
  • roxo89
    roxo89 Posts: 13 Member
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    Ok, I truly believe that MFP listings are inaccurate on this part.
  • debaloo
    debaloo Posts: 129 Member
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    You should be between 1500 and 2500 mg a day. I try to stay close to the lower end. My mom gets dizzy when her sodium is too low and feels better when she eats something salty. If you don't have high blood pressure or some other reason to do really low sodium just try to keep it under 2500.
  • Lunnunis
    Lunnunis Posts: 71 Member
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    It's important to differentiate between salt and sodium - UK recommendation is for less than 6g of salt a day, not 6g of sodium. Salt is only about 40% sodium according to this:

    http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/Sodium-Versus-Salt.htm
  • cjdBerkeley83
    cjdBerkeley83 Posts: 1
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    This description seemed like a good summary of other sites I've been reading. I personally have to be on a low sodium diet for blood pressure reasons. I've lately been staying between 700mg-1200mg per day. According to what's floating around <500mg causes problems.

    http://chriskresser.com/shaking-up-the-salt-myth-the-human-need-for-salt
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,096 Member
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    just a question... why do Americans always list sodium in 1000s of mg, not g?

    Everything is big in America.
  • jessie_kirby730
    jessie_kirby730 Posts: 2
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    You do not want to intake more than 2500mg of sodium per day, period. MFP has that listed on daily intakes. The "goal" is not to be at 2500 however. If you are eating that much sodium per day, rethink your diet or consume a considerable amount of water to help it wash out of your system. The flipside is that if you only have say 1000mg per day, but drink on average a gallon of water, you can also impact your body in a poor way. Lots of water, lots of sodium. Not lots of water, any sodium level below 2500 is fine.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Yeah, a lot of the hand-input food values are missing information.

    This is a good article for laymen discussing too low sodium: http://www.medicinenet.com/hyponatremia/article.htm
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    It's important to differentiate between salt and sodium - UK recommendation is for less than 6g of salt a day, not 6g of sodium. Salt is only about 40% sodium according to this:

    http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/Sodium-Versus-Salt.htm

    thank you for that.... I thought it was 6g sodium all this time.... (not that I track it as I don't eat high sodium foods that often, but still useful to know!)
  • EdgeGoalie31
    EdgeGoalie31 Posts: 11 Member
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    I tend to follow a lower sodium diet due to family members that require it for health reasons and have not had a problem. As long as you are cautious about your electrolytes you should be fine. Just keep a sports drink handy in the event you start to feel any of the symptoms: headache, confusion, bloating, nausea, vomiting, or muscle cramps. Take a break. If it occurs regularly see your doctor.

    This is a link to what the Mayo Clinic has to say: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyponatremia/DS00974/DSECTION=symptoms
  • missxlisa
    missxlisa Posts: 70 Member
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    My grandma died from a sodium deficiency =[
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    You do not want to intake more than 2500mg of sodium per day, period. MFP has that listed on daily intakes. The "goal" is not to be at 2500 however. If you are eating that much sodium per day, rethink your diet or consume a considerable amount of water to help it wash out of your system. The flipside is that if you only have say 1000mg per day, but drink on average a gallon of water, you can also impact your body in a poor way. Lots of water, lots of sodium. Not lots of water, any sodium level below 2500 is fine.

    This is pretty much all wrong. There's virtually no evidence suggesting healthy people need to keep it under 2500, and too low an intake can and will kill you.
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
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    You should be between 1500 and 2500 mg a day. I try to stay close to the lower end. My mom gets dizzy when her sodium is too low and feels better when she eats something salty. If you don't have high blood pressure or some other reason to do really low sodium just try to keep it under 2500.

    ^^ This

    I always stay above 1500 and TRY to stay below 2500... once in a while is ok but going too high will cause problems as well as going too low. I also read that when you go below 1500 you are more prone to "growing pains" those horrible muscle cramps that hurt like hell

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