How bad is it to be over your sodium??

Options
itsjessicarose
itsjessicarose Posts: 22
in Food and Nutrition
Is it REALLY bad to be over your sodium? Is there any way to counteract it??

Replies

  • anastaciarc
    anastaciarc Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on many factors. How much water you drink, how much potassium you are getting, how much you sweat. I guess one indicator is blood pressure. I seem to need more than what's recommended. But the guidelines tend to be pretty good.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Options
    I have never tracked sodium intake.... I concentrate on Carbs, Protein, Fats, and Calories beyond that I drink 100-120 oz. of water a day, this method has served me just fine over this journey... Best of Luck.....
  • hvo79
    hvo79 Posts: 10
    Options
    Congrats on the 306 weight loss. How bad is it to go over on protein and sugar? I am under on everything else. Please share some of your pointers.
  • itsjessicarose
    itsjessicarose Posts: 22
    Options
    Thanks for the input guys :) Yeah my point of view about sodium is that I drink A LOT of water throughout the day so I figured sodium wasnt a big deal...and ive only been tracking calories, carbs, fat , and protein too but decided to check out my sodium and it is way over :/
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
    Options
    Depends on how old you are, if you have hypertension, fluid retention, or any other cardiac problems that your doctor would say to eat a NAS (no added salt) diet.
    If your in the clear health wise, don't even look. Doesn't matter. Like the others have said, focus on cals, fat, protein, carbs. Try to eat as much high protein, but low fat as possible and get your carbs from fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
    I just notice if I had salty food the night before, I sweat more at the gym. NBD.
    Good luck!!!
  • itsjessicarose
    itsjessicarose Posts: 22
    Options
    Thanks for the reply! Very helpful :happy:
  • jen9506
    jen9506 Posts: 14
    Options
    If you're eating healthy, non-processed food, then sodium shouldn't be an issue in the first place. But beware of the sodium counts here on MFP -- I have noticed that often times they're totally off.
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    Options
    Not that bad if you're also way over in the water department! :-) Drink at the very least 100oz a day!
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 646 Member
    Options
    I don't have health issues that make me track sodium or be careful of it, however, I track it because it is a common cause of weight gain for me. I drink 8-9 glasses of water a day but when I go over on sodium, I try hard to add extra water for a day or two.
  • itsjessicarose
    itsjessicarose Posts: 22
    Options
    Thanks so much for all your replies guys! Its very helpful and put my mind at ease about the sodium issue :) lol and I definitely drink tons of water everyday! :smile:
  • KourtneyP83
    KourtneyP83 Posts: 319
    Options
    I try not to go over..but it happens from time to time. I think as long as you don't do it every day you'll be ok. Just drink lots of water :)
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Options
    Congrats on the 306 weight loss. How bad is it to go over on protein and sugar? I am under on everything else. Please share some of your pointers.

    Thanks........ Sugar is another one I don't keep to close of an eye on ... I do not use artificial sweeteners (except whats in my Pepsi Max) but in my coffee, I put domino pure cane sugar. I eat alot of Nuts (good fats) but don't eat much of any candy, etc so my sugar isn't that much over the course of the day... MFP figures are low on Protein, but I try to stick close to 1 gram per pound of body weight... I don't believe you can get to much Protein but try to stick close to those figures.... Carbs currently I am eating 300 grams daily...
  • Jezebel9
    Jezebel9 Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    I've noticed my kidneys hurting, and I suppose it could be salt. Especially refined table salt.
    http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Lsalt.htm
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    Options
    It depends. Are you in a high risk group? Then yes it is very bad to be over on sodium. Once you get HBP it is darn near impossible to get rid of so you want to prevent ever getting it.

    http://highbloodpressure.about.com/od/understandyourrisk/tp/risk_tp.htm
  • mjoekidd
    mjoekidd Posts: 45
    Options
    If you are working out and sweating a lot then you actually need to make sure you are putting sodium back into your body. You can expect to sweat out 1600 to 1800 mg of sodium per 1.5 liters of water expelled. The ore you sweat the more sodium you lose and the more you need to put back into your system.
  • wildboar1
    wildboar1 Posts: 88
    Options
    There haven't been any studies that have shown any causation between a high sodium intake and negative health effects.

Categories