Need 5x more sodium

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NunoPiresCosta
NunoPiresCosta Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there!
MFP says I should keep an intake of 2500 sodium.
I have been tracking some my food for a week now and I never went over 500.
Some days I just don't bother adding the meals, so it may look like I'm starving.... but I am not.

General idea is:
Where can I get 2000 extra sodium a day from?
Thanks

Replies

  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
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    First, the MFP setting for sodium is too high. I keep mine at around 1500 (rec. by Heart Assoc). Second, don't rely on the entries on MFP to accurately total your sodium. The entries tend to be wrong a LOT.

    I would look to balancing your sodium with your potassium - more important. You need about 2:1 balance of potassium to sodium. That's the hard part. Potassium is also grossly under reported on the database entries.
  • boroko
    boroko Posts: 358 Member
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    Don't worry - you really don't need to try and increase your sodium. The levels on mfp are a recommended maximum and are based on the American dietary reference values (basically assuming a population with a typically highly processed diet).

    We do need some sodium in our diet but you will be consuming more than you realise as it is in a lot of foods both naturally and in processing, but may not be included in the dietary information on mfp. For example the chicken and bacon pasta on your diary will definitely have sodium in it (probably quite a lot) although it is showing '0', as will most of the vegetables you eat.

    According to the 'Department of Health Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the UK' the lower reference point for an adult is 575mg/day and the upper reference point is 1,600mg/day. If your sodium is at the lower end of the range that is a good thing and unless you have a specific medical need you don't need to try and eat any more.
  • westhamrangers
    westhamrangers Posts: 66
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    Agree with the other posters. No reason really to up sodium unless there are health related concerns.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    You have a lot of entries where it says it has 0 grams of sodium. In reality, there is incomplete nutritional information given. For example, anything with bacon in it should definitely have a fair quantity of sodium. You've got a jacket potato with bacon from a few days ago and some bacon today, both entered as 0.

    It's also impossible to tell whether you're getting enough without all your meals entered.

    ETA: 'enough' is about 500 mg/day.
  • AggieLu
    AggieLu Posts: 873 Member
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    I looked at your diary. You consume more sodium than you think. For example - the Tesco chicken is logged at 0. There is sodium in raw chicken, once restaurants/stores cook it, season and preserve it - even more sodium is added to it..... you're closer to your 2500 hundred than you think.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    I'm willing to bet that the Tesco Chicken and Bacon Pasta you had today has more than 0 mg of sodium. :)
  • yourenotmine
    yourenotmine Posts: 645 Member
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    If you're not entering all the meals, then the levels in your tracker aren't complete. I wouldn't worry about trying to eat more, unless after doing a very thorough tracking it's still low and a concern to your doctor.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    i agree with others..you are not tracing it accurately..

    For a while i was hitting 25000 + sodium and have been trying to get that down to 1500....

    you really do not need to up your sodium, you just need to make sure that you are measuring it correctly...
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    I have never heard this question asked. It's always the opposite. Log truthfully for awhile and I'll bet you are surprised. This was my biggest eye opener since joining.

    These will put you over your daily allowance. Not the whole group, EACH one!

    10 spanish queen olives
    1 1/2 packages of Ramen Noodles
    2 bullion cubes
    2 king crab legs
    1/4 cup of soy sauce
    8-10 slices of most lunch meat
    1 packet of onion soup mix
    1 1/2 dill pickles
  • LoudmouthLee
    LoudmouthLee Posts: 358
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    www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/.../ucm_300625.pdf‎

    Your body, according to the American Heart Association, only needs 200mg of sodium per day to survive.

    You should not be ingesting, at a TOP limit, of 2,400mg (or 2.5g) per day. I try to keep mine well below 1500. Excess sodium causes high blood pressure, bloating and water retention.

    Yeah.
  • JacquiMayCrook
    JacquiMayCrook Posts: 308 Member
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    I think part of the problem is that many of us (I too am guilty as charged) rely on what others have entered on the database when logging.
  • chadraeder3
    chadraeder3 Posts: 279 Member
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    It is also possible that what you are putting in your diary does not have the correct sodium in the database. Practically all food has sodium even something like iceberg lettuce has 6 mg of sodium in a cup. If you use a salt shaker at the table that is sodium you might not put it in your diary but it is there. The database is good but if I can I try and double check the label with what is in the database if something is different or especially missing I update the information.

    If you eat any prepackaged foods I would be willing to bet it has a lot of sodium in it so no real need to worry. Sodium is essential for the body but the levels that the body needs is so miniscule.
  • ValMartin79
    ValMartin79 Posts: 65 Member
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    Oh my god if you are eating 500mg sodium then don't up it, or at least not to MFP's setting which is more then what is recommended. Sodium is what clogs your artieries and cause strokes and heart attacks. Read these and you'll be glad you are eating more. Less is better in sodium's case.

    http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02808/sodium
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/543459-do-our-bodies-need-sodium/
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2009/07/23/f-salt-reducing-health-risks.html
    http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.5263133/k.696/Dietary_Sodium_Heart_Disease_and_Stroke.htm
  • NunoPiresCosta
    NunoPiresCosta Posts: 11
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    Thank you for your insights.
    Will pay more attention and to the database entries and manually lower my daily goal from 2500 mg to 1000 or something...
  • NunoPiresCosta
    NunoPiresCosta Posts: 11
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    double post
  • NunoPiresCosta
    NunoPiresCosta Posts: 11
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    Some brands must be "correcting" the values....
    the pasta pot I had today has 3g of Salt...
    Had I noticed that, I would have had a different meal.
    Corrected the database entry.

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