No enough sodium!

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coronalime
coronalime Posts: 583 Member
in Food and Nutrition
my sodium is VERY low everyday. Its hard to find info on the min you should have per day and the effects of not having enough. I average maybe 500-800 per day and its 2500 max amt. Anyone else dealing with this?

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  • mountainwoman98
    mountainwoman98 Posts: 182 Member
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    Your body uses sodium to regulate blood pressure and blood volume..it is also critical for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves. So...too much sodium causes high blood pressure while not enough causes cramping in the muscles and possibly spasms. Hope this helps. Bottom line is that sodium is an important part of your diet but needs to be kept balanced.
  • MHBquixotic
    MHBquixotic Posts: 5
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    Wow, I was not aware not enough Sodium can cause possible spasms. That is interesting. Is there anything on MFP that tells you what a persons sodium and vitamin levels should be at?


    Going through all the posts is fun but wonder if there is an easier way to determine what I need or an average person should consume?
  • lindseyelyzabeth
    lindseyelyzabeth Posts: 33 Member
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    your mimimum should be 1500.
  • lmvolk
    lmvolk Posts: 51 Member
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    1500 is not the minimum... Many people are able to keep it MUCH lower than that... 800-1000 is fine, and you could probably go lower without much adverse effect.
    Be wary of sodium hidden in foods that you don't expect to have any added to, such as meat. Meat should have less than 80 mg/serving but the processors like to pump it up with broth and I have seen labels for plain meat showing up to 800 mg/serving. If you just put in "chicken" on the database, it might not show that amount. Be careful, especially people who already are on the high side.
  • HEATHERB500
    HEATHERB500 Posts: 78 Member
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    Hey girl! When you do your longer runs what are you fueling and hydrating yourself with? If you sweat alot (and I mean alot) like marathon or people who work out in the muggy heat all day it is important to consume at least 1000 mg/day, but I have never heard of a doctor or dietician recomending more than 2500mg. The reason is your body does sweat out sodium at a slow rate but to a certain point your kidneys will help to conserve it if you are low. In addition to muscle contractility, sodium is needed for you bodies fluid balance. I am not a specialist, but because of the type of endurance excercise that you do, I think it is very important to talk to your doctor about this and be very honest with him about your workouts and you daily activities. He/She will give you the most appropriate answer or refer you to someone who can.

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