Water to flush Sodium

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thisismynewmindset
thisismynewmindset Posts: 273 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
If I have an excess of, say, 500 mg of sodium on a given day, how many additional cups of water would I need to flush it out?

I mean, ON TOP of the 8 cups that are already recommended per day... how much sodium does each cup flush out?

Since the recommended intake of sodium is 1,500 mg per day, is it safe to assume that each cup of water will flush out about 187.5 mg of sodium from my system (1,500 / 8 = 187.5)?

Replies

  • red_hatorade
    red_hatorade Posts: 166
    That is a great question. I am CONSTANTLY over my salt intake.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    You should be drinking approx 7 water bottles a day. I'm talking about the 16.9oz Dasani or Deer Park bottles. That is enough water per day for you at your body composition. Thats just shy of a gallon of water.

    That will make you pee enough to flush out alot of sodium, but not all obviously. Your body needs sodium too.

    Bodybuilders and athletes should be drinking 1-1.5 gallons a day.
  • dusk1977
    dusk1977 Posts: 295
    great question I would love to know the answer please
  • pauterson
    pauterson Posts: 65
    I'm not sure of the answer.... However, keep in mind that your body NEEDS sodium, especially if you're working out. I usually go over my sodium intake but I work out and drink about 4-6 liters of water/liquid per day.
  • thisismynewmindset
    thisismynewmindset Posts: 273 Member
    You should be drinking approx 7 water bottles a day. I'm talking about the 16.9oz Dasani or Deer Park bottles. That is enough water per day for you at your body composition. Thats just shy of a gallon of water.

    That will make you pee enough to flush out alot of sodium, but not all obviously. Your body needs sodium too.

    Bodybuilders and athletes should be drinking 1-1.5 gallons a day.

    That helps, but I don't drink bottled water (it's the same as tap water for all basic purposes... many studies have shown this and I don't want to spend money on something I can get free from my kitchen tap). Sometimes I fill up my personal steel water bottle at work with the water machine (which is filtered water) but that's only because it's closer to my office than the office kitchen!

    My personal water bottle is 1 litre... how many should I be drinking in a day?
  • cobarlo14
    cobarlo14 Posts: 582 Member
    Great Question!!!

    Bumptity bump-bump!
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
    I'm not aware of any calculus for this problem, and I suspect you might be overthinking it. Everybody needs different amounts of sodium on different days for different reasons. For instance, on days you sweat more, you need more sodium to replace what you lost. Sodium is not BAD! Drink adequate amounts of water, keep your sodium intake reasonable, and don't overstress about it. It causes water retention, but that's a good thing sometimes. Having water keeps our body temperature regulated.

    As long as you're eating foods from, as another post once read, "nature's kitchen", sodium should not be a concern. When you consume a lot of canned, processed, and artifical foods, sodium becomes a major player. But if you're adhering to the concept of "from ground to table", please don't fret about sodium.

    ETA: There's a formula to figure out how much water you should drink based on your size and activity level. I posted it here: http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/01/lets-be-clear-or-at-least-light-yellow.html
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    You should be drinking approx 7 water bottles a day. I'm talking about the 16.9oz Dasani or Deer Park bottles. That is enough water per day for you at your body composition. Thats just shy of a gallon of water.

    That will make you pee enough to flush out alot of sodium, but not all obviously. Your body needs sodium too.

    Bodybuilders and athletes should be drinking 1-1.5 gallons a day.

    That helps, but I don't drink bottled water (it's the same as tap water for all basic purposes... many studies have shown this and I don't want to spend money on something I can get free from my kitchen tap). Sometimes I fill up my personal steel water bottle at work with the water machine (which is filtered water) but that's only because it's closer to my office than the office kitchen!

    My personal water bottle is 1 litre... how many should I be drinking in a day?

    Thats fine. I was just using the bottles as an example. 3.78 liters = 1 gallon which is plenty for you each day. Go for 3 bottles a day. I don't know how much you sweat throughout the day though. Your water intake may be higher if you train at the gym alot, have an outside job, go running in this heat, etc.
  • TigerBlood72
    TigerBlood72 Posts: 88 Member
    Make sure you sweat it out too.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    Make sure you sweat it out too.

    She will release the sodium from peeing as well.
  • thisismynewmindset
    thisismynewmindset Posts: 273 Member
    Make sure you sweat it out too.

    Sweat out what... the water or the sodium?
  • TigerBlood72
    TigerBlood72 Posts: 88 Member
    Make sure you sweat it out too.

    Sweat out what... the water or the sodium?

    Yes... both. Have you ever tasted sweat? Also notice sports drinks usually have sodium in them to replenish sodium in the body lost. And by increase you activity level it increases you cardio system and helps remove it as well.
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