Salt & Sodium....What & How?

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Janatki
Janatki Posts: 730 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, so five weeks in & starting to get a bit geeky.... the question of 🧂.
UK - recommended not to exceed 6g salt per day
MFP - my sodium should not exceed 2300 mg
I.e. 2.3 g.
Salt is sodium chloride
Sodium. Is ... erm ... sodium.
How much sodium equates to 6g sodium chloride? I can’t find an answer to this......nearly increased sodium content on here, but I dunno what I’m doing! 🤪

Important as I have renal lupus and on BP meds to reduce tension / pressures through my damaged kidneys

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,117 Member
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    Does this help?
    https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/health-professional-tools/sodium-and-salt-converter
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
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    Yes that is just what I’m looking for @Lietchi ... thank you
  • queanmum
    queanmum Posts: 28 Member
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    Retired RN here. Please don't eat that much salt/sodium. When you have kidney disease of any kind, you need to keep the sodium as low as possible. That generally means no prepared foods such as canned veggies, soups, or TV dinners. Buy fresh or frozen veggies and fruits. Be obsessive about reading labels. Use My Fitness Pal to keep track of your daily sodium. Your doctor is the best person to tell you what your sodium limit should be in your particular case. If I had your condition, I would not go over 1200 mg/ 1.2 gm in 24 hrs. Use lemon, herbs, peppers, or low sodium hot sauce to flavor your food. In the US, we have a product called Mrs. Dash that can make things quite tasty without sodium. You can find recipes/advice here: https://www.davita.com/diet-nutrition. It is a dialysis company here and a very safe site to visit. You can also consult a registered dietician when your doctor tells you what your sodium limit is. (Not a "nutritionist') Hope this helps and good luck!
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    If you do not have medically diagnosed water retention or kidney disease you should not be avoiding sodium. The RDA will be increased soon due to the absence of medical evidence that low sodium is a risk for healthy adults. It is your electrolyte. Without it you and your kidneys die.
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
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    Been signposted to a seaweed alternative @queanmum ..just awaiting delivery ..my serum sodium levels are always on the lower side ... got a result of 131 (normal range 135-145) today from my consultant with reduced evidence of inflammation.
    Like you say to avoid the traffic lit - yellow / red labelled - food stuffs over here. & yes that includes most processed foods 😞 & to eat loads of fruit & veggies!
    Also taking medication, mycophenolate to reduce blood flow tension & prevent further damage for the long term.
    Thank you for your concern though - appreciated x
  • queanmum
    queanmum Posts: 28 Member
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    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    If you do not have medically diagnosed water retention or kidney disease you should not be avoiding sodium. The RDA will be increased soon due to the absence of medical evidence that low sodium is a risk for healthy adults. It is your electrolyte. Without it you and your kidneys die.

    I'm sorry to disagree with you.The lady said she had renal lupus in her post and my advice was specific to her. There are 3 major electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and calcium that need to be in normal range and proper ratios relative to each other. Our healthy bodies do a remarkable job of keeping these in normal limits. I would hate for someone to read what you said and overdo sodium.
    A healthy person can live quite well without ever using a salt shaker. Just ask a doctor. We get plenty of sodium in a balanced diet. Now, I have taken care of people in the ICU who had low sodium. It causes brain swelling, not kidney damage. They get irrational, combative, and try to climb out of bed. You don't see this happen unless there is underlying serious illness. Normal, healthy individuals could never develop hyponatremia like this. Like they always say...moderation. Cheers.
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
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    In my case @queanmum is correct, I do need to limit my sodium intake, though my intake can be more than it should! Work in progress still🤪
    However, I have also read about the question of evidence around salt intake and previous dietary advice for fit healthy adults @ wilson10102018 ....
    I asked about this as I am interested in sodium found naturally in foods and how much I can / can’t avoid as I find myself in this position ....

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