How bad is sodium....really?

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meggs9605
meggs9605 Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
A little about me... I am 29 yrs old, female, 5'6 and currently weigh 175 lbs. My goal is 140 I had lost about 140 lbs about 8 years ago, but ever so slowly, about 30lbs has crept back on. I'm not sure when I gave up on my good eating habits, but I am committed to getting back to my healthier self.

I have been eating healthier and overall I feel a lot better. I have only lost 5 lbs so far, but it has only been a couple of weeks. The biggest thing I struggle with is my LOVE OF SALT! I can so without bread, sweets, fried foods, and basically all junk. But I can't give up my salt. I could seriously eat a piece of cardboard as long as I could salt and pepper it. According to MFP I am consistently way over my sodium allotment and this doesn't even count the extra salt and pepper I add to almost everything or the tiny dash of soy sauce I add when stir-frying veggies.

My question is other than water retention, how bad for me is the extra salt. I drink about 12-15 cups of water a day to help flush my system. Is there anything else I can do?

Replies

  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    As long as you don't have kidney problems I wouldn't really worry about it. Just make sure you drink enough water. Drinking water will help to flush the salt out so you won't hold on to as much water weight.
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
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    And also make sure you are getting enough potassium.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/potassium-salt-diet-dangers_n_895124.html
  • meggs9605
    meggs9605 Posts: 55 Member
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    And also make sure you are getting enough potassium.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/potassium-salt-diet-dangers_n_895124.html

    good artical, thanks!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Many, many years ago salt was more valuable than gold in some parts of the world.

    The simple fact is that a certain amount of sodium in needed for us to function. Sodium is vilified as it's linked to hypertension and in many countries the recommended maximum daily consumption is 1500mg or less.

    If your blood pressure is in normal ranges (many people have hypertension and don't realize it as it's usually asymptomatic until you have a stroke), you have no other underlying health problems and are drinking enough water I wouldn't lose any sleep over it (unless your consumption is off the charts......)
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    If your doctor has bothered to mention it (usually in the context of heart issues) it's probably very very evil to you. There are also people who spend a good chunk of some days getting sweaty and might need more sodium. But if you're not in one of these situations, you're probably okay with following the site's limits.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    Very few people are sensitive to salt. As long as you are not getting bloating issues you will be fine. If you are taking in that much water you need salt for electrolytes. The major studies that previously linked sodium to heart decease have been discredited in peer review.
  • ylor89
    ylor89 Posts: 105 Member
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    Hmmmm... I don't always go over the amount of sodium I'm allowed each day, but there are a few times a week where it does skyrocket. I think drinking lots of water will definitely help. I think I have the opposite problem... I started running and noticed that I was getting dizzy spells. My doctor said I have very low blood pressure and if it dips even a little bit, I get dizzy and can faint. Exercising causes my blood pressure to dip so I always make sure I have some salty crackers waiting for me. So salt must not be that bad for you, right?? :wink:
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
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    bump for later
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    If you don't have any medical conditions that are affected by high sodium intake, then there really isn't anything bad about sodium besides the possible water retention that you already mentioned.

    My favorite benefit though? It makes my scrambled eggs taste awesome each morning along with any other savory food I regularly eat.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
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    Very few people are sensitive to salt. As long as you are not getting bloating issues you will be fine. If you are taking in that much water you need salt for electrolytes. The major studies that previously linked sodium to heart decease have been discredited in peer review.
    Indeed! I pay very little attention to the sodium, the only reason I track it is curiosity about how much is in various things. If you eat a lot of processed foods, you are getting a lot. I never count stuff I added myself.

    There is a pretty wide healthy range of salt for most people and it includes amount quite a bit higher than MFP sets.

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