Someone PLEASE tell me............ it isnt so.

MED2012COLORADO

Make that diary pubic so we can see it.

I dont have it public because there is days i forget to log my water at all and i dont log my excercise at all Becasue it was confusing me on what i had left and how much to eat and when i first started mfp had me at 1200 cals but from reading the message boards and the "you are not eating enough" blogs i upped mine to 1500 i didnt feel like defending well one day you didnt eat enough and here you didnt have any water and so on. But i will open my diary if people think it will help.

wolfchild59

How any vegatable or fruit of ANY kind can have sodium in it is beyond me.

It's because sodium is a naturally occurring mineral that is in our soil and water. So anything that grows on this earth, especially plants, will have some level of natural sodium in them since they use the soil and water to grow and survive. And animals eat food grown in the soil and drink water that has sodium in it so the meat that we eat has naturally occurring sodium in it as well. And most seafood is going to be higher in sodium than other meats due to the environment.

I won't reiterate what everyone else has already said, since it's pretty much all been said accurately along the way. But I didn't see anyone give you an answer/reason as to why the food actually has the sodium in it to begin with.

MED2012COLORADO

How any vegatable or fruit of ANY kind can have sodium in it is beyond me.

It's because sodium is a naturally occurring mineral that is in our soil and water. So anything that grows on this earth, especially plants, will have some level of natural sodium in them since they use the soil and water to grow and survive. And animals eat food grown in the soil and drink water that has sodium in it so the meat that we eat has naturally occurring sodium in it as well. And most seafood is going to be higher in sodium than other meats due to the environment.

I won't reiterate what everyone else has already said, since it's pretty much all been said accurately along the way. But I didn't see anyone give you an answer/reason as to why the food actually has the sodium in it to begin with. Thank you, i guess it was like turning on a light bulb in a dark room, i was scrolling back thru months and for breakfast one day i had 3000 mg of sodium and i wasnt done with the day! Because when i first started on here the focus seemed to be (from what i was reading) calories in calories out thats all you need to worry about stick with your calories and your good to go so i was thinkin fine if i want a big mac and i log it and it fits in my calories im good and i will loose weight and then as i was looking some more i was saying OMG even veggies have it im so screwed. I was hoping it was wrong but WOW now i know. These guys that have been on here for some time know the in and outs for sure, thanks all for your advice and info

ok that thank you note was suppose to go here , theres to much to learn on here. lol thanks again

MED2012COLORADO

Ok just to clarify i wasent blaming my lack of weight loss or weight gain on veggies by any means. I think the shock for me was when i added the "sodium bar" to my diary (I have not touched a salt shaker in over a year) and i was going back thru my diary just to see how much i was consuming and for breakfast one day i had 3 turkey sausage links @ 140 cal each sodium levels totaling over 2000 just for breakfast . I wont be eating those ever again now that i know. So as i kept scrolling thru then i was like omg even veggies have it ? NOOOOOOOOO! My world just crashed for a minute thats all. But thank you guys for all your advice and wisdom. :drinker: and telling me to drink more water which i was slacking.

rml_16

Sodium is a naturally occurring and necessary mineral.

Koldnomore

I will disagree with anyone who says that ignoring your sodium is 'fine' . You do need SMALL amounts of it yes but the average person gets WAY WAY more than they need. High sodium can lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and thus increase your risk factor for stroke, as well as heart and kidney disease. If you choose to 'ignore' the sodium your kids eat/drink you are also putting them at risk for high blood pressure or the development of high blood pressure later in life.

2,300 mg /day is the UPPER limit. The recommended is more like 1,500 mg... excess sodium will cause you to retain water unless you counter it with potassium and/or drinking more water (go for pale/clear urine). If your not getting pale/clear then you need to drink more water. Same if you have bags under your eyes - you are dehydrated.

rml_16

2,300 mg /day is the UPPER limit. The recommended is more like 1,500 mg.

That is highly in dispute among researchers and doctors.

But, bottom line, you only NEED about 500 mg a day and it isn't difficult to keep it in check if you stay away from highly processed foods. I struggle to get 1,000 mg a day and I eat a LOT of cheese.

bcattoes

Yes, sodium is found in food, including vegetables. Our bodies need sodium. Having too little can be just as dangerous as having too much. But it would be very hard to get too much sodium from that found naturally in foods. Even if you ate a lot of seafood, which is grows in salt water, it would still be pretty hard. While vegetables and fruit do you have sodium, other than possibly seavegetables, the sodium content is low.

Koldnomore

2,300 mg /day is the UPPER limit. The recommended is more like 1,500 mg.

That is highly in dispute among researchers and doctors.

But, bottom line, you only NEED about 500 mg a day and it isn't difficult to keep it in check if you stay away from highly processed foods. I struggle to get 1,000 mg a day and I eat a LOT of cheese.

Not everyone is lacto-ovo vegetarian. This does not constitute a 'normal' diet.

The upper limit seems to be highly quoted by the mayo clinic as well as USDA , CDC , Canadian as well as Australian health agencies.. Sorry I stopped looking after that.. How many more health agencies and doctors would you like?

http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2006004/article/sodium/4148995-eng.htm
http://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/sodium.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284
http://www.livestrong.com/article/411769-usda-sodium-levels/

rml_16

2,300 mg /day is the UPPER limit. The recommended is more like 1,500 mg.

That is highly in dispute among researchers and doctors.

But, bottom line, you only NEED about 500 mg a day and it isn't difficult to keep it in check if you stay away from highly processed foods. I struggle to get 1,000 mg a day and I eat a LOT of cheese.

Not everyone is lacto-ovo vegetarian. This does not constitute a 'normal' diet.

The upper limit seems to be highly quoted by the mayo clinic as well as USDA , CDC , Canadian as well as Australian health agencies.. Sorry I stopped looking after that.. How many more health agencies and doctors would you like?

http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2006004/article/sodium/4148995-eng.htm
http://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/sodium.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284
http://www.livestrong.com/article/411769-usda-sodium-levels/

The upper limit, yes, But not the 1,500 number.

And while, no, not everyone is vegetarian, it is still very possible and not that difficult to keep your levels down by avoiding over-processed food. If you cook your own food at home for the most part, your sodium levels will not be especially high. People add salt to their food because they never learned to season it any other way.

Even as a vegetarian, if I eat a meal in a restauraunt, my sodium for the day can be as high as 6,000 mg. But if I made the same meal at home, it would be within the normal range. How much sodium is in a plain chicken breast?

bcattoes

I will disagree with anyone who says that ignoring your sodium is 'fine' . You do need SMALL amounts of it yes but the average person gets WAY WAY more than they need. High sodium can lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and thus increase your risk factor for stroke, as well as heart and kidney disease. If you choose to 'ignore' the sodium your kids eat/drink you are also putting them at risk for high blood pressure or the development of high blood pressure later in life.

2,300 mg /day is the UPPER limit. The recommended is more like 1,500 mg... excess sodium will cause you to retain water unless you counter it with potassium and/or drinking more water (go for pale/clear urine). If your not getting pale/clear then you need to drink more water. Same if you have bags under your eyes - you are dehydrated.

Many nutrition experts want the upper recommendation changed to 1500 mg, and even less for older adults.

But, that said, I am a 51 year older adult and I don't track sodium. I don't eat much processed food and rarely use table salt in cooking or at the table. I tracked it for a while on MFP but it was always good, so I stopped. Also, I workout and sweat a lot and have never had high BP so it's not really a concern for me. If your children are eating mostly natural home-cooked foods and are active, it's likely not much of concern for them either.

Sodium is important, but so are most nutrients. Personally, I worry more about getting enough calcium than getting too much sodium.

Koldnomore

Actually 1,500 shows in every one of those links as well but that was not my issue. The issue was the people who basically said "oh don't worry about your sodium..delete the column".

"Most" people do not cook everything at home from scratch, nor do they avoid pre-packaged and canned foods. 1 serving of the 'wrong' can of soup/beans can cost you 1000mg. I almost had a hernia when my boyfriend cooked me some canned pea soup last week because it was close to 800mg for 1 cup.

I totally agree with you..if you cook everything at home and avoid cans/packages you have no problem staying under whatever 'recommended' amount you wish to follow.

castlerobber

How any vegatable or fruit of ANY kind can have sodium in it is beyond me and simply devastating to me.

<snip>

WELL I FELL OFF MY CHAIR ( yes i got back up just fine :laugh: )WHEN I SAW THAT FRESH VEGGIES HAVE SODIUM. and egg whites???. kale?? .................WHAT????????? The data base has to be wrong period.

Er...no, the database probably isn't wrong. Sodium is just a mineral, like potassium, calcium, and iron, and all those other minerals you find listed in the tiny print on the multi-vitamin bottle. The problem isn't so much sodium as sodium chloride, aka table salt. Large amounts of salt can cause mildly elevated blood pressure in the small percentage of people who are salt-sensitive. The amount of sodium you get in fruits, veggies and other non-processed foods isn't going to hurt you.

bcattoes

The good news is, unless you are under a doctor's orders to reduce sodium due to high blood pressure, sodium doesn't matter. For the vast majority of people, the body can handle extra sodium just fine. In fact, despite the anti-sodium doctrine, there is also evidence that low sodium diets aren't even good for most people.

What was considered a low sodium diet in the evidence you refer to above? It's pretty easy to get enough sodium for body function without ever adding salt to food.