Sodium Intake?

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TaraJ16
TaraJ16 Posts: 304
in Food and Nutrition
Just curious, is the sodium on here a good recommendation or is it a bit high or low?

My sodium goal is 2,500 and today i'm coming in at 2,337 - is that ok?

Just seems a lot of things i eat are high in sodium such as cottage cheese, feta cheese, my campbells soup, pasta. i'm doing great meeting all my goals for cals, carbs, fat, protein ect.....just curious about the sodium!

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  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    It's high. Recommended daily intake of sodium (set by American Heart Association, among others) is 1500 mg a day. Try to cut it down gradually...it's not easy to do, I'm working on decreasing mine at the moment.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    Yeah I think that MFP sets it a little high (but, I believe you can adjust your target levels if you want). I usually aim for about 1500 a day. If I stay below 2000 I'm happy, though.
  • TaraJ16
    TaraJ16 Posts: 304
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    oh yikes i'm way way over then :(

    i'm a very picky eater so its hard for me to find things that work within my eating plan that i like. i finally thought i had it all figured out :( not sure what to do now if i have to cut down the sodium so much
  • jowily
    jowily Posts: 189 Member
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    I did a search on the AH website...and it said The American Heart Association recommends healthy American adults should reduce their sodium intake to less than 2300 mg (about 1 teaspoon) per day

    Some are now saying that to prevent heart disease and to reduce strokes and heart disease those at risk should reduce to no more than 1,500 - so you will see this more and more.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    2300mg of sodium in one day isn't BAD. It's not ideal, but it's not BAD, either, compared to how much some people take in. Try reducing your intake gradually- I found it really difficult at first, but it's gotten much easier.

    Also, on days where you eat too much sodium, drink a lot of water. It will help 'flush' it out.
  • mswing7674
    mswing7674 Posts: 44
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    my trainer at the gym said 2500 is a totally safe amount but that you never ever ever want to go over 3000
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
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    Gawwd, i've found its easier to cut calories than it is sodium with all the foods out there. I found out one of the asian sauces I liked had 1,000mg per tbsp.

    You know what's really difficult is it seems that as you try to eat back your exercise calories you aren't granted anymore allowances for sodium as a reult of the exercies....so that makes it even harder.
  • TaraJ16
    TaraJ16 Posts: 304
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    This is an idea of a day like today - so that you guys can see where i'm at:

    B - Fruit salad (apple, orange, 1/2 banana) , 1/2 cup cottage cheese *Total sodium - 532*
    S - almonds & peanut butter *Total sodium - 30*
    L - greek salad (peppers w/ 1/4 cup feta), 1/2 can campbells veggie soup *Total sodium - 862*
    S - 100 cal ice cream *Total sodium - 40*
    D - 1 cup pasta w/ parmesan & sauce, baby carrots *Total sodium - 547*
    S - apple sauce, tea w/ milk *Total sodium - 50*

    Total sodium intake - 2,061

    The main things that are big on sodium are cottage cheese (need that to up my protein though), feta, soup and pasta sauce. i really enjoy the feta in the greek salad though. and not sure what to do about the soup and pasta sauce other then make my own....but i like the convenience of store bought because i have to make so many different dinners that i'd rather have something quick and simple for myself ya know
  • TaraJ16
    TaraJ16 Posts: 304
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    its still more then whats recommended i guess....but i'll have to work on that lol
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
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    This is an idea of a day like today - so that you guys can see where i'm at:

    B - Fruit salad (apple, orange, 1/2 banana) , 1/2 cup cottage cheese *Total sodium - 532*
    S - almonds & peanut butter *Total sodium - 30*
    L - greek salad (peppers w/ 1/4 cup feta), 1/2 can campbells veggie soup *Total sodium - 862*
    S - 100 cal ice cream *Total sodium - 40*
    D - 1 cup pasta w/ parmesan & sauce, baby carrots *Total sodium - 547*
    S - apple sauce, tea w/ milk *Total sodium - 50*

    Total sodium intake - 2,061

    The main things that are big on sodium are cottage cheese (need that to up my protein though), feta, soup and pasta sauce. i really enjoy the feta in the greek salad though. and not sure what to do about the soup and pasta sauce other then make my own....but i like the convenience of store bought because i have to make so many different dinners that i'd rather have something quick and simple for myself ya know

    I buy Francesco Rinaldi No Salt added sauce- I use it to cook with, not on pasta, but it's good and very low sodium- it's in the database if you want to look.
  • TaraJ16
    TaraJ16 Posts: 304
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    ok, i played around some more and was able to get it lower!

    B - Fruit salad (apple, orange, 1/2 banana) , 1/2 cup cottage cheese *Total sodium - 532*
    S - almonds & peanut butter *Total sodium - 30*
    L - veggie salad (peppers, tomatoes, cucumber), 1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese *Total sodium - 355* 862*
    S - 100 cal ice cream *Total sodium - 40*
    D - 1 cup pasta w/ parmesan & sauce, baby carrots *Total sodium - 547*
    S - apple sauce, tea w/ milk *Total sodium - 50*

    *Total sodium - 1,554*

    it cut out a lot of sodium me taking out the feta cheese and adding cucumber and tomatoes instead. also cutting out the soup took out a huge chunk! the soup was so darn good, but thats a heck of a lot of sodium. i like this meal plan better haha! i'm right on with my cals, over on carbs a bit, still have fat left, am just about at my protein (only off by a couple) and my sodium is closer to 1,500 now!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    Good work! What I try to do is mix and match my high sodium meals. So for instance, if I have a sandwich (turkey + cheese + bread = 690mg of sodium) for lunch one day, I'll try and have chicken and veggies that night. Or if I have a salad (244 mg of sodium) for lunch, I can have an Italian sausage or something with more sodium. So the day you have your cottage cheese, have something else instead of your soup!
  • kjensen15
    kjensen15 Posts: 398 Member
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    Yes the American Heart association recommends 1500 mg of sodium and you only technically need 200mg of sodium for your body to function properly. I would say if you aren't at an elevated risk for high blood pressure or heart disease staying around the 2300 mg range is fine.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    I don't even bother tracking it anymore. I sweat quite a bit for my triathlon training, and my blood pressure is WAY better than optimal as it is so I'm not concerned. Don't forget, those limits set by those Association are for people that eat, sleep, work and don't do exercise.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    I just switched one of my columns in the FOOD section to sodium and check the past week. My intake was anywhere from 2000 to 4000, and again, I'm not concerned.
  • elisha8685
    elisha8685 Posts: 20
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    A good thing to keep in mind with sodium is that if you intake more than your body needs, you can always balance it out by drinking more water. Salts are an important balance in your body like water. (Obviously water is more important). Anyways, I do not worry about eating too much salt at all, I just make sure that I am intaking more water if I go over the recommended daily amount.

    Also (previously-mentioned) you can workout, in which a case you also lose salt (rapidly) so in my mind high salt is a very small factor in my diet plan. (In fact, in the military, during vigorous training, we add salts- oral rehydration salt- to our water to replenish the body's imbalance of salts. I would recommend this for anyone who does vigorous activity especially in the sun, i.e. construction workers, especially if that individual finds them self getting headaches often and/or feeling drained. Salts are important!

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