Sodium questions. Helllllppppp!!

PetulantOne

I hear a lot about how too much sodium can hinder weight loss because of water retention. MFP has my sodium level at 2,500. That seems high to me. I've done a little research and I'm seeing 2,000-2,300 mg per day are healthy. I'm wondering if anyone can help me with what a healthy level should be.

yarwell

I leave it to my kidneys to sort out but the public health guidance appears to be 2400 mg per day of sodium. I suspect MFP flexes it with calories, but I haven't checked.

The health variable affected by sodium is blood pressure, so if that's OK the sodium isn't a threat.

PetulantOne

Oh and then theres this

http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/

PetulantOne

Yeah the blood pressure thing is another concern. There's a history of heart troubles in my family. Plus both my parents have high blood pressure. So that is definitely something I'm trying to avoid.

yarwell

Then along comes this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14974027 concluding that " Degree of reduction in sodium intake and change in blood pressure were not related. People on anti-hypertensive medications were able to stop their medication more often on a reduced sodium diet as compared with controls, while maintaining similar blood pressure control. " and "Intensive interventions, unsuited to primary care or population prevention programmes, provide only minimal reductions in blood pressure during long-term trials."

Pass the salt :-)

sherrirb

I suspect MFP flexes it with calories, but I haven't checked.

Unlike several other things you can track on MFP, sodium intake does not change with calorie intake or exercise.

2500 mg is standard but if you think it is too high than manually lower it. All I know is once I started tracking sodium and did my best to keep it under 2500 mg per day the swelling that had been appearing in my legs went away and weight loss was much easier and manageable.

CyberEd312

I have lost 311 lbs. and have never tracked a single gram of sodium....... ever....... I have always drank half my body weight in water so for me water retention has never really been an issue..... Best of Luck....

jjefferies7

It's about relative intake not absolute intake. It really doesn't matter if you are consistent with your intake. The body wants to maintain homeostasis, however homeostasis is delayed from a few hours to days. If you were eating 2500mg of sodium daily and then suddenly you go and eat 8000mg your body of course will have excess salt and cause water retention, and other health problems. The body then wants to flush out the excess sodium by increasing urine volume and the sodium lost through urine. Doing that will need more water so it makes you thirsty. The problem comes with inconsistency where one meal is high sodium and the rest of your diet is low sodium. However if you were to keep your sodium to say for example 6000mg a day homeostasis will take care of the rest and it would be the same as if you were eating 2500mg a day(this includes water retention, blood pressure, ect).

so to be consistent you could either eat no sodium ever, nothing processed, nothing out to eat. OR you could keep your sodium high everyday as long as it is consistent. consistency is key.

IF you do choose to increase your sodium intake remember you will see water retention for a few hours to even days for some individuals because again homeostasis is not instant and it is delayed.

PetulantOne

Then along comes this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14974027 concluding that " Degree of reduction in sodium intake and change in blood pressure were not related. People on anti-hypertensive medications were able to stop their medication more often on a reduced sodium diet as compared with controls, while maintaining similar blood pressure control. " and "Intensive interventions, unsuited to primary care or population prevention programmes, provide only minimal reductions in blood pressure during long-term trials."

Pass the salt :-)

:laugh:

PetulantOne

Ok, so 2,500 isin't unreasonable. Whew! It just struck me as a high number, and kind of scared me a little. I'm pretty consistent most days. 100 or so in either direction. The balancing act is interesting. I looked back over the past few months and had two days where I blew my calorie goals. (Went out to eat both times.) And those days were really bad sodium days as well. Both times I gained about two pounds that was gone in a day or two. That explains a lot. I'm finding consistincy is key to a lot of things around here. Thanks for all the insight.

Lina4Lina

Sodium doesn't cause high blood pressure in the sense that if you eat a certain amount of sodium you'll get it but it can elevate your natural blood pressure. I have low blood pressure and I find sodium keeps me in the normal ranges. I wouldn't worry too much unless you do start noticing high blood pressure, then you may need to back off.

caitlyn30

I have mine set at 2500 but that is too high for me, I can tell when I get up there that far because I will actually gain weight, but 1500 is too hard for me to stay at.