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Question on Salt Intake?

GothyFaery
GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
edited February 9 in Health and Weight Loss
People keep saying that if you have a higher salt intake, your body will retain water to balance out the salt. This in turn can cause bloating and temporary weight gain until your body balances out again. So under this theory, wouldn't increasing your water intake balance your raised salt intake to avoid the bloating and weight gain?

So basically if you should have X amount of salt and Y amount of water every day, if you had X+2 salt in a day, couldn't you balance this out by then drinking Y+2 water? And that would make you even for the day, no harm, no foul?

Replies

  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
    Water to salt is not a 1:1 ratio. For the most part, drink more water if you eat more salt. If you somehow manage to OD on salt, no, water is not going to help. At that point you'd need medical help.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    Yes I understand that it's not a 1:1 ratio. I was trying to keep it simple for those in the world that don't love math like I do. It's about 39 mg salt to 1 oz water, assuming a normal intake to be 2500mg salt and 64 oz water per day. So with that worked out, if you intake 3600 mg of salt, could you then intake 92 oz of water to avoid the bloating and weight gain that comes with having too much salt?
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    I fail at math but I drank 11 cups of water on Sunday and consumed 3709mg of sodium. I still ballooned from 126.8 to 130ish until this morning, when I finally dropped back down. I typically drink 9 cups of water every day. Not sure if you can counteract it prior, just have to ride the wave after.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,476 Member
    But it's not an insta-fix.

    The salt/water balance isn't going to magically make your body speed up its elimination process.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    more water=more pee dont know if you could get an exact number there are so many factors that influence the water and electrolyte balance
  • blackmax78
    blackmax78 Posts: 28 Member
    Your kidneys can only filter out so much...

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/512393-does-too-much-salt-damage-the-kidneys/

    /quote How Sodium Affects the Blood Vessels

    The sodium in salt directly affects the amount of pressure exerted on the walls of blood vessels. As you consume salt from foods, the balance of electrolytes and fluid in your blood changes. Your kidneys excrete less urine, and retained body water shifts to the bloodstream, increasing the fluid in blood. Your heart must pump more blood and work harder, raising the pressure against blood vessels. Over the years, this action can stiffen and damage the blood vessels that serve your organs, including the kidneys. //quote
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