Not enough sodium?

AmandaJCole13

So my mother and I were having a conversation about watching sodium in our diets.
She believes that since I'm active, I shouldn't be getting any less than 2,400mg a day...especially while drinking a lot of water.
Apparently she knew of someone that had a heart attack because of not having enough sodium while being active.
I'm personally not concerned...just curious as to how much sodium is too little?

Pearsquared

Eh...you don't need that much.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/542089-how-much-sodium-do-adults-need-daily/

About 180-500mg a day.

Usually, only full-time athletes need to replace salt, and that's why electrolyte drinks (like Gatorade) often contain salt. For most, we get pleeeenty of salt in our diets.

jgcurry3

I agree with your mom, if you are active physically, i.e. running, cycling, swimming, resistance training etc. That amount of sodium should be easy to achieve with a healthy nutrition plan. It allows your body to retain water for body processes, If your body is not adequately hydrated performance is hindered significantly. When performance is hindered so are the results.