Sodium too low!

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SouthernBell86
SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, so I have been sodium conscious for a long time. My whole life it has been on my radar basically. Many of my family members have health issues that doctors have related to high sodium (blood pressure, kidney stones, high water retention). As a result, my Mom has always cooked very low sodium food for us all, not adding salt to food while cooking it and when picking processed foods, choosing "low sodium" options. Since I have never been used to food tasting super salty, it has been easy and natural for me to cook that way as well. I never add salt to my food. I mean, not as I cook or on my food when its on my plate.

Lately though, I have been drinking soo much water and still not feeling that my thirst is quenched. Not everyday, but most days. Some of that I was able to chalk up to the extra exercise and heat etc., but today I finally checked the report on my sodium. Shock of my lifetime, on most days ( 2 out of 3) I don't even get half of the RDA for salt. Other days I get enough or over when I have to eat out or at someone's house. Those must be the days I don't feel as thirsty.

So basically it never occurred to me that my sodium intake could be too low. I mean, I knew that it was possible in the general population, but I guess I had a distorted view of how much salt is added to foods that I eat on a regular basis, and how much sodium is naturally occurring in food.

So I need to get friendly with my salt shaker. Anyone else have this problem?

Replies

  • spritie
    spritie Posts: 167
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    yup I've had to incorporate salt into my breakfast so that I absorb the water that i drink throughout the day and don't pointlessly drink too much water.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    The RDA is the maximum you should get. There is no minimum. The only reason to up your salt intake is if you have symptoms such as low blood pressure (i.e., it's so low you are in danger of passing out). Btw, the RDA is some other countries is much lower than what is recommended in the US. In the UK, it's 1600 mg a day, not 2400-2500 mg.
  • lfholland
    lfholland Posts: 37 Member
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    I wish I could give you some of mine. Eat just about anything out of a can and you will not have that problem.

    I'm pretty much the opposite. Once I discovered sea salt, I started putting it on everything I cook. It has probably been the hardest part of my diet to change. I failed miserably today too because I ate a 1/2 cup of beans from a can and that had 570mg , which was mind boggling to me.
  • SouthernBell86
    SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
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    Yeah, the only time I eat canned food is in casseroles, which I generally filled with fresh veggies and meat so that the overall effect isn't as drastic. If you find yourself eating canned foods for the convenience, try to find recipes for those items, and make them in large portions to store and eat throughout the week, and you can cut a lot of your sodium out without missing it :) Fresh food tastes better and doesn't need as much sodium anyway.

    And I know that the 2,500 is a maximum, but most days I'm only hitting around 1,000 and I think I may well have been experiencing some symptoms, but the only one I really traced to low sodium was being so thirsty. I don't regularly test my blood pressure, but whenever it is tested, it has always been at the very low end of "healthy" which has often shocked nurses given my weight. In fact a few times a nurse has gotten a different bp cuff to test me with, thinking that the first one wasn't calibrated well. I'm going to try and see if I have less headaches, feel less thirsty etc over the next week as I slowly increase my sodium intake :)
  • lfholland
    lfholland Posts: 37 Member
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    I totally agree with you and beans are pretty much the only thing I ever eat from a can, but I have really been trying to eat a lot of fiber so I have been eating cans of beans regularly.

    Beans are just a pain unless you can buy them fresh. Having to remember to put them in water the night before just never crosses my mind until its way too late.

    I have recently started using more lentils, which are great because you don't have to soak them and there are some awesome Indian and Middle Eastern recipes that are so unique and flavorful.

    But thanks to your thread I think I'm going to go put some beans in water right now.
  • johnthefatman
    johnthefatman Posts: 205
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    Be aware that there are some foods in the database where the sodium value has been entered in grams instead of milligrams causing the diary to massively under report sodium - I know its the case for a high proportion of UK foods where labels are usually in g not mg, might be true for some of your entries too.

    As the diary rounds down values < 0.5 a value of 499 mg - 20% RDA will show as 0:frown: if entered as 0.5, 700 mg will show as only 1..you need to go into edit mode to see the actual entered data not the rounded out put and if it has a decimal point multiply it by 1000 - and save the edit for us all of course :smile: .

    I have been asking Mike to see if something can be done and he agreed to have a look at it but I have not heard back for a week or so.
  • LowCarbAmanda
    LowCarbAmanda Posts: 129
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    I only just started a new way of eating, but it turns out to have naturally diuretic properties, and on the 5th and 6th days I was really thirsty, headachy, and having leg cramping. Then I read about symptoms of low sodium, and I corrected that promptly. Today I feel a thousand times better!
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Excess thirst is not a symptom of low sodium. Mild problems associated with low sodium levels are nausea, vomiting, sluggishness, suppressed appetite and irritability. Serious complications include muscle spasms and cramps, as well as seizures.

    Excess thirst is a symptom for a host of other illnesses though such as diabetes, hypoglycemia and problems with the heart, liver or kidneys. It's also a sign of dehydration.
  • Allibaba
    Allibaba Posts: 457 Member
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    Canada reccomends 1500mg per day and I aim for that, some days I am closer to it and some days I am way under. I don't notice a difference in how I feel on the days when I am under. Fresh foods are the best for sure, and it is a good way to keep sodium low. If you want to raise it a bit, I would suggest adding a bit of sea salt to your dinners.
  • MarthaStubbs55
    MarthaStubbs55 Posts: 2
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    Being to Low on sodium but still want to be cautious of your Sodium intake, Easy Fix.
    Instead of Eating no sodium eat food with minimum sodium.
    I obtain most of my food from Healthy Heart Market. They carry delicious items that are perfect for my diet.

    Try there website hope i helped
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
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    One thing I find quite odd about the sodium setting here is that it doesn't change. Some days I have to consume 2,500+ calories. I find it quite impossible to stay anywhere close to 2500 mg, most days ending up well over 4,000. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to consume twice as many calories as a smaller woman while still eating the same amount of salt.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    One thing I find quite odd about the sodium setting here is that it doesn't change. Some days I have to consume 2,500+ calories. I find it quite impossible to stay anywhere close to 2500 mg, most days ending up well over 4,000. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to consume twice as many calories as a smaller woman while still eating the same amount of salt.

    I've often wondered this on days where I workout. I can get back 600 calories, but no sodium at all. Even though if I sweated my way through 600 calories, I probably LOST some salt, right? It's kind of a B!$*^
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Yes, if you do heavy exercise, you need to replace your electrolytes that you've lost. However, studies show you don't need to replace electrolytes until your exercise goes over an hour. So it's only those really intense, really long sessions that are going to put you over the average person's needs.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    Okay, so I have been sodium conscious for a long time. My whole life it has been on my radar basically. Many of my family members have health issues that doctors have related to high sodium (blood pressure, kidney stones, high water retention). As a result, my Mom has always cooked very low sodium food for us all, not adding salt to food while cooking it and when picking processed foods, choosing "low sodium" options. Since I have never been used to food tasting super salty, it has been easy and natural for me to cook that way as well. I never add salt to my food. I mean, not as I cook or on my food when its on my plate.

    Lately though, I have been drinking soo much water and still not feeling that my thirst is quenched. Not everyday, but most days. Some of that I was able to chalk up to the extra exercise and heat etc., but today I finally checked the report on my sodium. Shock of my lifetime, on most days ( 2 out of 3) I don't even get half of the RDA for salt. Other days I get enough or over when I have to eat out or at someone's house. Those must be the days I don't feel as thirsty.

    So basically it never occurred to me that my sodium intake could be too low. I mean, I knew that it was possible in the general population, but I guess I had a distorted view of how much salt is added to foods that I eat on a regular basis, and how much sodium is naturally occurring in food.

    So I need to get friendly with my salt shaker. Anyone else have this problem?

    The minimum amount of sodium per day that a person should consume, to avoid severe complications to health is 500mg. Too low sodium intake over a period of time will alter the electrolytes in the body, they get upset and it can get extremely serious and ultimately life-threatening.

    The person who said about sodium levels in the food database being wrong is completely correct, I have had my own sodium levels in my food log so low that I became alarmed, but discovered that some of the foods were either being altered by other members to give the wrong readings (grams instead of mg) or they were input incorrectly in the first place and I never noticed.

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