TOO MUCH SODIUM? - What's it all about?

peteyTwang

Was taken back by the following this article morning "Sodium Won't Kill You-- Scientists Shake Up What We Know About Salt".
Outside of being (formerly) very overweight, I've never had a medical condition or been advised by a doctor about it or anything, but since I have started tracking at MFP, I continue to be shocked at the amount of sodium on almost every nutritional info label.
Is this article really true? What are the real dangers of Too Much Sodium?

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"It's been common wisdom for years. Too much sodium leads to high blood pressure which leads to heart disease and possibly death. But a new study out of Belgium might just shake up what we think we know about salt.

Scientists who studied several thousand subjects for eight years found that not only was low sodium intake not associated with improved health, the group that appeared to consume the least sodium had a 56 percent greater chance of death from heart attack or stroke than the group that was reaching for the salt shaker with every meal."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20059659-10391704.html

SueInAz

I just heard this on the radio this morning on my drive into work. It completely contradicts that news that came out of the U.S. Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments a few months ago. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/31/new-dietary-guidelines-drastically-cut-salt-intake/

I don't know quite what to think.

SunLove8

All I really know for sure about it is, when I eat or drink too much sodium in stuff I balloon up and the scale goes up. That's the only true fact I know...

taso42_DELETED

i guess we should take it with a grain of salt

dmanakho

I just heard this on the radio this morning on my drive into work. It completely contradicts that news that came out of the U.S. Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments a few months ago. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/31/new-dietary-guidelines-drastically-cut-salt-intake/

I don't know quite what to think.

ha-ha... the link is from Fox news..... not sure we can trust them

reepobob

i guess we should take it with a grain of salt

Very witty, Mr. Taso. Salt is my nemesis...I have just gotten into the habit of drinking like a sump pump during a monsoon to flush the sodium away.

ej_xo

When I was severely restricting my food intake, I had too little sodium and it became extremely dangerous.

There is definitely such a thing as too little.
Some days, my sodium is so low that I don't feel well, because I am very good at avoiding it.
My doctor is actually still very concerned. She wants me to get at least 1000mgs every day.
To tell you the truth, I feel better when I do. 1000mgs won't cause bloating, those issues would be caused from some other factor.

I have had to take many many MANY nutrition and health courses due to my illness and I know that sodium is important in proper quantities. Just avoid packaged food, certain natural foods contain sodium that won't harm your body...it's the MSG and TABLE SALT that do!!!

natskedat

If your diet doesn't include a lot of processed foods and includes lots of whole grains, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables, limitied healthy fats, and lean sources of protein, you don't need to worry about sodium. Sodium is water soluble, so whatever your body doesn't use gets flushed out when you drink enough. We need sodium every day for normal metabolic functions.

Eliminating healthy foods like low-fat cottage cheese and shrimp because they've got too much sodium is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Unless you've got a health problem and are receiving medical advice from a doctor, don't worry about it.

Focus on getting your macronutrients and fiber from whole food sources, and sodium will not be a problem.

ej_xo

i guess we should take it with a grain of salt

Very witty, Mr. Taso. Salt is my nemesis...I have just gotten into the habit of drinking like a sump pump during a monsoon to flush the sodium away.

GOOD POINT TOO! As long as you are drinking lots and lots, sodium shouldn't be an issue in the appropriate/recommended amounts.

ej_xo

If your diet doesn't include a lot of processed foods and includes lots of whole grains, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables, limitied healthy fats, and lean sources of protein, you don't need to worry about sodium. Sodium is water soluble, so whatever your body doesn't use gets flushed out when you drink enough. We need sodium every day for normal metabolic functions.

Eliminating healthy foods like low-fat cottage cheese and shrimp because they've got too much sodium is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Unless you've got a health problem and are receiving medical advice from a doctor, don't worry about it.

Focus on getting your macronutrients and fiber from whole food sources, and sodium will not be a problem.

EXACTLY

TrainingWithTonya

Sodium and potassium (and a few other things) work together for muscle contraction including heart muscle. Going too high or too low in either of them is unhealthy as it will effect the contraction of muscles. Not enough or too much can cause the heart to beat irregularly or stop altogether. So, yeah, you can definitely have too little sodium too. Theoretically, it is the imbalance of the electrolytes that cause the problem not just sodium.

The reason sodium is considered such a risk for blood pressure is a separate function of sodium. Basically, sodium attracts water, so wherever sodium goes water follows. If we eat too much sodium, it is in the blood stream and therefore, so is extra water. Extra water in the blood stream increases pressure on the arterial walls (IE blood pressure).

It's a pretty complex issue, not just as simple as one study regardless of which one you believe. That's the drawback to research. Because it is so complex you can get conflicting data because of focusing on one aspect and not the whole picture.

NatalieWinning

My BP goes up, and it's never up (usually very low) and my eyesight gets blury maybe hours later or next day, as well as HA and tight fingers along with weight gain. Increased thirst, because it makes you suck in water. It's a good thing if you are dehydrated in a desert, or whatever. Not good if you are eating crazy sodium for no good reason. It's in so many things in our society it's good to try to cut back, because if you don't watch it, it's skyrocket high in our diets. If you have a nonprocessed diet it's easy peasy to cut back naturally. Once you eat less you develop a lower tolerance for eating crappy stuff high in sodium.

If you are basically healthy it's just a temp. issue, but if you are prone to health things in particular, or have disease, then you should watch it especially.

I make an effort to watch it, but don't try hard to limit it. When I go over, it's temp. water gain. I have no risk factors for heart disease, kidneys okay, etc... but i'm heart attack/stroke age, so I pay attention because of the BP spike, and way over makes me feel crappy for 3 days or so.

NatalieWinning

Do you need sodium? Yes! Additionally we put iodine in table salt because it's a reliable way to get enough to protect our thyroids.

Do you have to watch it if you have a related disease that it affects? Yes!

The rest of us have to keep it in sane numbers, read all studies and food fads with a proverbial grain of salt. It's just really hard to avoid crazy amounts in our society.

becca0211

I read an article about this on CNN (?) that basically questions the validity of the research in this study.... I'm not ready to stop paying attention to the sodium in my food.

anzura

Because I'm a foodie and do a lot of my own cooking, I never ever use regular old table salt! YUCK!!!! I use kosher salt and sea salt sparingly because I'm a total CELTIC GRAY SALT fanatic! I purposely do not salt my food when cooking so I can sprinkle gray salt on top. Give it a Google...it's good for you!

NatalieWinning

Because I'm a foodie and do a lot of my own cooking, I never ever use regular old table salt! YUCK!!!! I use kosher salt and sea salt sparingly because I'm a total CELTIC GRAY SALT fanatic! I purposely do not salt my food when cooking so I can sprinkle gray salt on top. Give it a Google...it's good for you!

To the body, salt is salt is salt is salt. Foodie taste is good, but sea salt or any other salt is not better for you. I get a kick out of Wendys new natural potato fries with sea salt. Still salty fries!

i think sensible is the way to go. Never jump on any bandwagon for a healthy or unhealthy for you study. Take birth control pills, and cigaretts! Doctors used to give people the damnedest thing. Opium was once "good for you". Remember when no one could eat an egg anymore or they would die from the cholesterol? Plenty of studies said those were good and also plenty said bad. There is more to every story than one study.

anzura

To the body, salt is salt is salt is salt. Foodie taste is good, but sea salt or any other salt is not better for you. I get a kick out of Wendys new natural potato fries with sea salt. Still salty fries!

i think sensible is the way to go. Never jump on any bandwagon for a healthy or unhealthy for you study. Take birth control pills, and cigaretts! Doctors used to give people the damnedest thing. Opium was once "good for you". Remember when no one could eat an egg anymore or they would die from the cholesterol? Plenty of studies said those were good and also plenty said bad. There is more to every story than one study.

Sea salt, table salt and kosher salt are all processed. Did you look up gray salt? It's straight from the sea with all the minerals.

I think of salt this way: Your tongue can taste 5 difference tastes. Bitter, sweet, sour, umami and SALT. There are many foods that can taste bitter, many food that can taste sweet, many foods that are sour....only ONE that can taste salt and that's salt! Our body needs it. All the hype that people get over salt is akin to the splenda will kill you crowd!

Just eat a natural whole food diet and you don't have to avoid salt...(unless you have high blood pressure that's not related to diet)