Sodium- come on people, scare me!

I don't want to freak you out too much, but I probably average 6000 mg of sodium per day, I'm 83 lbs overweight, and I consistently come in at 100/70 BP.

In other words, all the hullabaloo about sodium is WAY overdone for a lot of people. Salt is delicious and you NEED it, so unless your doctor says to stay away, be free.

Dang! Wish I had YOUR genetics! I love salt (as a kid, sometimes I'd just eat salt plain) but really have to watch my sodium levels. As much as I like salt, I like not having a stroke even more.

If you can, listen to this programme on the BBC i-player - Inside medicine broadcast on 16 th January. It is about the most extensive study of salt (sodium) yet achieved and their observations. It has taken into account nearly every other piece of research on salt and even names who the sponsors of the previous experiments that give favourable results to not control salt usage - especially in food production. Bit like the tobacco and alcohol industry publishing glowing reports on their vested interests.

remember, on the whole experiments conclude with observations and then they ask if other people will run the experiment (peer review) in order to confirm the findings. Papers are just that untill they are peer reviewed and accepted as "such as we know at this time, then this is the gold standard"

Everybody has an agenda.

Companies that use salt like studies that show salt is not dangerous.
Companies that make drugs like studies that show salt is dangerous and you need their drugs.
Scientists like studies that get them funding. "OMG u'r gonna die!" type of studies are a great way to get attention & funding for future studies.

Well, it will slow down the weight loss, But my Dr. told me to drink at least 1/2 my body weight in water, Water will flush the sodium out

Half your body weight in water...... everyday? Every week? Half of your body weight in water for a 180 pound person would be 11.25 GALLONS of water a day....

For "normal" people it can raise your blood pressure and many other scary things. It's also important to make sure you're keeping up with your potassium, because they go hand and hand as far as making sure your heart works properly. Your sodium and potassium levels are sort of like a scale...as one goes up the other goes down. I have Addison's Disease and part of that is that my body "salt wastes". I can't maintain a sodium level without medication so I have to eat more salt then normal people, which sometimes causes people to look at my funny! (my husband says that I salt my salt).

Anywho, as long as you're a generally healthy person, it's good to keep an eye on your sodium intake... Best of luck!

If you can, listen to this programme on the BBC i-player - Inside medicine broadcast on 16 th January. It is about the most extensive study of salt (sodium) yet achieved and their observations. It has taken into account nearly every other piece of research on salt and even names who the sponsors of the previous experiments that give favourable results to not control salt usage - especially in food production. Bit like the tobacco and alcohol industry publishing glowing reports on their vested interests.

remember, on the whole experiments conclude with observations and then they ask if other people will run the experiment (peer review) in order to confirm the findings. Papers are just that untill they are peer reviewed and accepted as "such as we know at this time, then this is the gold standard"

The BBC has a vested interest in scaring people, that's how the media makes a living. So the BBC's report is as "suspect" as anyone else with a motive. I mean, seriously, the guest they had on was described by the host as, "he regards salt as a toxin."

These guys are also talking about results that occurred when salt was reduced from 16 grams a day. They keep talking about salt reduction but they don't say to within what range or discuss whether there is a linear relationship, which there can't be because obviously the 'ideal' amount of dietary salt is not zero nor is it infinite.

They don't discuss how much that range varies between individuals based on genetic makeup and activity levels. Like if I sweat a LOT and dump lots of salt out through my sweat, it's a pretty good bet I'm going to have a higher need for it than I otherwise would. Their mentality is one size fits all.

Nice of you to dismiss the professor as "regarding salt as a toxin", care to actually name the study that he was discussing and the names of his American colleagues and what the study actually was. And yes, he regards "salt as used by the food industry" as toxic levels.

As for the BBC, you seem to miss the point of "Inside Medicine", it is a science programme where at least people of similar intellect discuss the science. As for the BBC being a media company and having to make a living, that is not the case and they are reviewed by Parliament and the People and are not allowed to sensationalise. You view this as a "suspect" report, it was not a report it was a discussion of a major long-term study into salt. By all accounts the most factual.

As for your other points, yes - it is not one size fits all. But that is liek arguing that alcohol and cigarettes only badly effect certain people and other people can drink and smoke and it not be detrimental to their health.

It would be fair to assuem that people taking part in ultramarathons are the people who woudl most understand their bodies and have a vested interest in peak performance but they of any notable group are the ones who end up with hyponatremia because of high hydration and low salt. So, one size fits all - no. Food industries taking the absolute piss with their backhanded processing and reporting of salt usage - yes salt is being inserted into diets at toxic levels and you should tell people who have appaling processed diets the facts.

Salt bad, not per se.
Too much salt and not enough hydration - bad
Too much hydration and not enough salt - very bad
Way too much salt and you may as well smoke and do drugs as well. Stroke, embolism, MGM to name only a few

Perhaps it woul dbe easier to understand the process of salt and water and how they actually aid red and white cells in the body. Go to the molecular level. Easier to understand then the importance of balance.

Here's information on why salt is essential and what happens if you don't have enough salt:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/sodium/

Very good. Had not spotted this post.

As for your other points, yes - it is not one size fits all. But that is liek arguing that alcohol and cigarettes only badly effect certain people and other people can drink and smoke and it not be detrimental to their health.

Plenty of people drink alcohol in moderation without it having bad effects on their health.

As for smoking, the vast majority of people who do it, do it many hundreds of thousands of times, not 'in moderation.' But there still are outliers...

Not everyone is sensitive to sodium. There's a good portion of the population that can safely consume far beyond the recommended levels. However, there's no way to distinguish whether or not you're sensitive, and the potential risks associated with elevated sodium consumption are too high not to cut back to be on the safe side,

i don't want to be a jerk ... but ...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=risks+of+high+sodium+diet

Ummm that was AMAZING. I'm going to use that on someone I know...