Sodium

firegirlred
firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
The question was raised through other threads that there is a lot of confusion regarding sodium. After doing some extensive research today, I've found that 2400 mg/day may not be enough for the sweaty athletes in here.

What I found:
1 GRAM per day more sodium for every hour of exercise that you sweat (not just a drop on your forehead, but enough to soak portions of your clothes)
1 LITER per day more water for every hour of exercise that you sweat

Can someone give me any more info on the sodium thing?


On another note, I'm not feeling so a bad about 4200 mg of sodium today now. It actually appears that I'm not getting enough sodium to accommodate what I lose in sweat.

Replies

  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    The question was raised through other threads that there is a lot of confusion regarding sodium. After doing some extensive research today, I've found that 2400 mg/day may not be enough for the sweaty athletes in here.

    What I found:
    1 GRAM per day more sodium for every hour of exercise that you sweat (not just a drop on your forehead, but enough to soak portions of your clothes)
    1 LITER per day more water for every hour of exercise that you sweat

    Can someone give me any more info on the sodium thing?


    On another note, I'm not feeling so a bad about 4200 mg of sodium today now. It actually appears that I'm not getting enough sodium to accommodate what I lose in sweat.
  • OomarianneoO
    OomarianneoO Posts: 689 Member
    Good-googa-mooga! I've never heard that before. It'll be interesting to see what the "elders" says. I sweat like CrAzY at the gym! drinking_water.gif
  • last25
    last25 Posts: 83
    I've found that 2400 mg/day may not be enough for the sweaty athletes in here.

    What I found:
    1 GRAM per day more sodium for every hour of exercise that you sweat (not just a drop on your forehead, but enough to soak portions of your clothes)

    Whoa! Seriously?? NO way. And I've been feeling so bad for going over 2500 mg/day. I agree with OomarianneoO, I wonder what the "elders" think of this. A most interesting find...
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
    Hmm... I have to say I don't necessarily agree although there's not a definite reason for that. I just know that since I've started keeping my sodium under 1200mg a day (and frequently under 1000... today it was about 800!) I feel a million times better and I feel much healthier. My naturopath didn't say anything when I discussed my efforts at really decreasing my sodium intake and she's phenomenal so I would say to tread carefully. Things may be different for truly professional athletes who are working out hard 5-7 hours a day but for those of us who are citizen fitness buffs it seems like a LOT of sodium to put in.... hmm... :huh:
  • lmdeluca
    lmdeluca Posts: 21
    I would like to know this as well. I live in Phoenix and it doesn't take much this time of year to sweat like crazy (monsoons= high humidity)! I crave salt! and I always have. I went to work my horse the other day thinking it would be a great work out. Wow the humidity was like so high I couldn't see with all of the sweat dripping in my eyes and I wasn't even working as hard or as long as I had planned on. I had to go home since I couldn't stand it!:sad:
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    The question was raised through other threads that there is a lot of confusion regarding sodium. After doing some extensive research today, I've found that 2400 mg/day may not be enough for the sweaty athletes in here.

    What I found:
    1 GRAM per day more sodium for every hour of exercise that you sweat (not just a drop on your forehead, but enough to soak portions of your clothes)
    1 LITER per day more water for every hour of exercise that you sweat

    Can someone give me any more info on the sodium thing?


    On another note, I'm not feeling so a bad about 4200 mg of sodium today now. It actually appears that I'm not getting enough sodium to accommodate what I lose in sweat.

    First, where did you find that info?

    Second--that is a HUGE amount of sodium and I wouldn't recommend anyone go above recommended levels (2200-2500 mg a day) WITHOUT THEIR DOCTOR'S APPROVAL. NOR do I think anyone should severaly restrict their sodium intake without THEIR DOCTOR'S APPROVAL.

    Sodium is vital to life! It is needed for our bodies to function. And, TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE CAN, HAS, AND WILL CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES INCLUDING DEATH.

    I've never heard figures like you quoted, so can't comment other than it sounds very high.

    I know endurance athletes must consume more sodium--but I"m talking people who run marathons or do 100 mile bike rides on multiple days.

    Also, if you're exercising for more than an hour, you should be drinking some kind of sports electrolyte mix. If it's hot, and you're overweight, the hour rule goes out the window. Drink it when you exercise period--in moderation of course AND ALONG WITH WATER!
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    For the most part, this refers to endurance athletes. It appears anything less than an hour is not considered endurance for the part of the research. I know the figures seem high. I have a call into a nutrition person (years of school to advise others how to eat), and will let you guys know what I found out. I had the same reaction as many of you. "THIS SEEMS WAY TOO HIGH!!!!" The more I read, the more I was convinced that these numbers were right. The salt institute link gave some guidelines on rehydration, but the biggest comment was that sports drinks don't cut it in terms of sodium replacement. I live in Texas, so it's nothing out of the ordinary to run a 5k or 10k for the runners here in 100 degree heat or more.

    http://www.velonews.com/article/6397

    http://www.ultracycling.com/nutrition/hyponatremia2.html

    http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Salt_and_athletes__Shake_it_or_leave_it_.htm

    http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/Sodium_Salt.htm

    http://www.saltinstitute.org/28.html

    The link above was the most beneficial to find out what I was looking for. It appears the studies were done in UK. I'm not sure who the salt institute is, but it seems to be well rooted in fact. If you scroll down to the end of the article, it quotes some pretty interesting study results. I had to reread several of the study results just to understand what it was saying. The implications are staggering.

    http://www.healthcastle.com/sports_nutrition_sodium.shtml

    I believe most of these sites are well know health authorities. I have more if anyone needs it.

    ALSO-I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT EVERYONE DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!! I just wanted to let you guys know what I found out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • dcoates
    dcoates Posts: 9
    I work as a nurse and when we have cardiac patients we put them on a 2 gram sodium restricted diet 1 gram = 1000 mg i don't know if this helps you, but it sounds like 2000 grams would be more than appropriate for a normal person
  • dcoates
    dcoates Posts: 9
    work as a nurse and when we have cardiac patients we put them on a 2 gram sodium restricted diet 1 gram = 1000 mg i don't know if this helps you, but it sounds like 2000 grams would be more than appropriate for a normal person ---- so if you eat 2400 grams and you add 1000 becuase you sweat it out there is a total of 3400 mg, but you sweat out 1000 so, your back to 2400. Sounds okay to me. It makes sense. I think you need really watch your intake if you notice swelling in hands and feet and if you have heart problems, but for healthy individuals we need sodium for our cells to function appropriately. I know that back in the day people used to take salt tablets after working hard out in the sun because they would loose so much salt from sweat. they don't do this anymore secondary to dehydration. Make sure if you do increase your salt that you do drink enough water to accompany the salt intake. To many of those sports drinks have hidden additives -- I hope this helps
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    Coates-
    The recommended amount for an average american is 2400 mg. I appreciate the help with the numbers. One of the articles, I believe the salt institute may be some interesting reading for you. If I remember right, while 2000 mg is the rda in the UK (don't quote me on this number), there were some interesting studies that we might see as having some implications in the medical field. Maybe some stuff down the line, as in the cardiac hospital setting, but also in emergency services. We see many patients coming to us with the symptoms described in the articles. We will see a rise in heart rate, but no corresponding drop in blood pressure to indicate hypovolemia from dehydration (orthostatic blood pressure changes). Hyponatremia seems to be a better answer, especially when the patient says they've been drinking plenty of water. And isotonic solutions may not be the appropriate emergency solutions when treating people who have been outside sweating all day who are now experience severe problems. In actuality, there is a slight possibility we may be making the situation worse by administering those fluids. With your background as a nurse, we share much of the same training and much of the same time requirements in school (I'm a paramedic). I can hear you groan from here!!! Just kidding.

    But the implications for medicine, sports training and many other things could be huge. Or it could be fly-by-night study results that fail to take into account all the facts and nothing changes or current "knowledge" gets reversed. Heaven knows we've seen this quite often lately.

    Like I posted before, this is just something I've found after questioning it myself. I wanted an answer, and what I posted was what I've found because I thought it might be of interest to others in here. I'm not making them up, or making the results of my search fit the results that I wanted.
  • cquick
    cquick Posts: 220
    man, i hate sodium....I think it's the devil, quite frankly, and believe it's just as bad as sugar...do you notice that it's in everything!  like, instant oatmeal...why do I need sodium in my instant-friggin-oatmeal?  I don't want it there if I can't control it (personally), and for anyone that saw our HFCS convo the other day, this crap is in the weirdest places when they definitely don't need to be.several studies have shown that sodium is MORE addictive than sugar.  :devil: :devil: :devil:  i hate to say it, but I agree!  I try my darndest to keep my level at 1500mg of sodium or lower a day, and I personally think your levels are too high, but get this:  the average american consumes over 7000 mg of sodium A DAY!  are you kidding?  yuck!  so it looks like you're not doing too bad...when it comes right down to it, trial and error will show you how much sodium you need...listen to yo body, baby, and you can't go wrong!:tongue:
  • krystalmoore1986
    krystalmoore1986 Posts: 216 Member
    I just had a shocker, I entered my can of chicken noodle soup and sat down to eat it then read my numbers for it!

    Campbell's - Chicken Noodle Soup, canned, condensed, 1 can (10.75 oz) cals 156 carbs21 Protien8 fiber2


    SODIUM 2,291!!!!!!!!!!!:noway: :noway: :noway:
    Needless to say I practically spit out the bite in my mouth and went in the kitchen and drained out the broth except about two spoonfulls and replaced it with water. Reheated and added a dash of pepper and garllic powder. Much less sodium and tasted okay. i am so glad I looked at that before eating it!!!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Yeh I thought as doing great today when I ordered the chicken fajitas at the 'natural...fresh' mexican rest. Well I had my entire days sodium in my lunch. MMMMM it was goooooooood!

    I was surprised sodium is in milk? Naturally, I wonder?
  • cquick
    cquick Posts: 220
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
    I just had a shocker, I entered my can of chicken noodle soup and sat down to eat it then read my numbers for it!

    Campbell's - Chicken Noodle Soup, canned, condensed, 1 can (10.75 oz) cals 156 carbs21 Protien8 fiber2


    SODIUM 2,291!!!!!!!!!!!:noway: :noway: :noway:
    Needless to say I practically spit out the bite in my mouth and went in the kitchen and drained out the broth except about two spoonfulls and replaced it with water. Reheated and added a dash of pepper and garllic powder. Much less sodium and tasted okay. i am so glad I looked at that before eating it!!!

    This is a great idea!!!! I've never thought of that!!! Does it really lower the sodium amount??? I really hope so...and how do you log it in? I have a couple of cans of the tasty progresso soup for a while now. I have not eaten it since I looked at the sodium content... I have been monitoring my sodium intake lately and my goal is no more than 2500mg a day...Now that I am monitoring it I rarely go over it. :flowerforyou:
  • krystalmoore1986
    krystalmoore1986 Posts: 216 Member
    I just had a shocker, I entered my can of chicken noodle soup and sat down to eat it then read my numbers for it!

    Campbell's - Chicken Noodle Soup, canned, condensed, 1 can (10.75 oz) cals 156 carbs21 Protien8 fiber2


    SODIUM 2,291!!!!!!!!!!!:noway: :noway: :noway:
    Needless to say I practically spit out the bite in my mouth and went in the kitchen and drained out the broth except about two spoonfulls and replaced it with water. Reheated and added a dash of pepper and garllic powder. Much less sodium and tasted okay. i am so glad I looked at that before eating it!!!

    This is a great idea!!!! I've never thought of that!!! Does it really lower the sodium amount??? I really hope so...and how do you log it in? I have a couple of cans of the tasty progresso soup for a while now. I have not eaten it since I looked at the sodium content... I have been monitoring my sodium intake lately and my goal is no more than 2500mg a day...Now that I am monitoring it I rarely go over it. :flowerforyou:
    I do believe that most of the sodium is the salty chicken broth, especially in the condensed plain chicken noodle soup I was eating. I didnt really know how to log it, so I just added up the rest of my sodium for the day and tried to keep it below 2000 assuming the soup still had about 500mg sodium. That being said if I had eaten the soup normally I would have been around 3,900 for the day.
  • bunnywestley
    bunnywestley Posts: 3
    To be honest, I've never worried too much about it as I know for a fact that the government just picked a number out of the air.

    Its like fresh fruit and veg.

    Every country is different as its all completely made up!!

    I listen to my body, if I'm craving something salty, then I need more! :smile:
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    I personally don't think any government picks numbers out of the air. And, yes, other countries vary but I think, in the case of the UK anyway, given that they provide health care for all, they might be more interested in keeping citizens healthy. And that is my personal opinion. I know it's harder to avoid sodium in foods here in the States. For example, the same foods found here in the States--such as cereal--can be found in other countries with lower sodium amounts. Special K is one I discovered about when I was stayed in the Yukon for a few months back in 2004. In Canada, Special K has less carbs, less sugar, and less sodium than here in the States--and it tastes SO MUCH BETTER than the version they sell here in the States. I was told by Post Cereals that they put more sodium and sugar in their American cereals then in the Canadian versions because of "American tastes."

    I have found out yesterday that some cereals contain absolutely no sodium--some oatmeal and Shredded Wheat for example. I'm getting Shredded Wheat today and switch from Cheerios.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Thanks a LOT! Now my head is swimming with thoughts of sodium!! LOL :sad: :sad:

    I just had what I would call a great lunch:
    3 oz turkey
    2 slices of 100% ww bread
    1 tlbs lite miracle whip
    1 oz 2% ched cheese
    carrots
    3 cracked pepper triscuits
    total in sodium....ta da 1400 grams. WHAT! and the triscuits are only 70, incase your thinking the salt on those bad boys is the problem

    the bread and the boars head oven gold turkey breast were the culprits.

    I dont have issues with high BP and I dont want to start now. I guess I will be checking for sodium levels now. Prob cook up my own turkey for a week or two.

    thanks for the info fellow nutrition soldiers!
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    The question was raised through other threads that there is a lot of confusion regarding sodium. After doing some extensive research today, I've found that 2400 mg/day may not be enough for the sweaty athletes in here.

    What I found:
    1 GRAM per day more sodium for every hour of exercise that you sweat (not just a drop on your forehead, but enough to soak portions of your clothes)
    1 LITER per day more water for every hour of exercise that you sweat

    Can someone give me any more info on the sodium thing?


    On another note, I'm not feeling so a bad about 4200 mg of sodium today now. It actually appears that I'm not getting enough sodium to accommodate what I lose in sweat.

    That's not so outlandish. If you're dripping sweat for two hours a day, you need 2000 extra mg. How many of us are really dripping sweat for two hours a day? I lift for 45 minutes and run no less than 3 miles a day, and my dripping sweat time = 20-40 minutes. When I get up to 10+ miles, I'll be taking full advantage of sodium and sugar-laden Gatorade, because that's about 90 minutes of running. Even then, my dripping-sweat time will probably be up to 60 whole minutes, or an extra 1000 mg. This article does make sense when you consider that every single neuron in your whole body uses sodium and potassium to function, and if you're dripping sweat, you're using millions of muscle fibers. If you're worried about water retention, drink more water later in the evening when it won't pose a problem to your exercise performance.
  • Fitness_Chick
    Fitness_Chick Posts: 6,648 Member
    man, i hate sodium....I think it's the devil, quite frankly, and believe it's just as bad as sugar...do you notice that it's in everything!  like, instant oatmeal...why do I need sodium in my instant-friggin-oatmeal?  I don't want it there if I can't control it (personally), and for anyone that saw our HFCS convo the other day, this crap is in the weirdest places when they definitely don't need to be.several studies have shown that sodium is MORE addictive than sugar.  :devil: :devil: :devil:  i hate to say it, but I agree!  I try my darndest to keep my level at 1500mg of sodium or lower a day, and I personally think your levels are too high, but get this:  the average american consumes over 7000 mg of sodium A DAY!  are you kidding?  yuck!  so it looks like you're not doing too bad...when it comes right down to it, trial and error will show you how much sodium you need...listen to yo body, baby, and you can't go wrong!:tongue:
    :drinker: This post has me so thirsty right now....soon as I post I'm heading to grab some more water!:drinker:

    From what I've read...sodium is not only used as a food preservative (in nearly EVERYTHING) but is also added to foods to enhance the sweetness.

    I know it sounds strange...but that is another effect of salt...it will enhance the sweetness (sugars, fake sweetners etc) in a food item. Lays baked chips are supposed to be much healthier (they say) than regular chips. But the few times I've eaten them...they taste very very sweet to me. Seems an item is removed from a food and in goes another one.

    Fat free items...more carbs... Sugar Free..more sodium
  • Fitness_Chick
    Fitness_Chick Posts: 6,648 Member
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...

    I love the change over to sea salt... pretty awesome just a teensy bit can really pop the flavors in a dish. So I'm with you on that!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: now off to get my water fix...

    cause "These Pretzels are making me thirsty!" ':laugh:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...

    I love the change over to sea salt... pretty awesome just a teensy bit can really pop the flavors in a dish. So I'm with you on that!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: now off to get my water fix...

    cause "These Pretzels are making me thirsty!" ':laugh:

    Sea salt does lack iodine, so if you're making a permanent switch make sure your diet, multivitamin, or a supplement will be supplying sufficient iodine. An iodine deficiency will result in a sluggish thyroid.
  • Fitness_Chick
    Fitness_Chick Posts: 6,648 Member
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...

    I love the change over to sea salt... pretty awesome just a teensy bit can really pop the flavors in a dish. So I'm with you on that!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: now off to get my water fix...

    cause "These Pretzels are making me thirsty!" ':laugh:

    Sea salt does lack iodine, so if you're making a permanent switch make sure your diet, multivitamin, or a supplement will be supplying sufficient iodine. An iodine deficiency will result in a sluggish thyroid.

    Thanks for the tip!:happy:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...

    I love the change over to sea salt... pretty awesome just a teensy bit can really pop the flavors in a dish. So I'm with you on that!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: now off to get my water fix...

    cause "These Pretzels are making me thirsty!" ':laugh:

    Sea salt does lack iodine, so if you're making a permanent switch make sure your diet, multivitamin, or a supplement will be supplying sufficient iodine. An iodine deficiency will result in a sluggish thyroid.

    Thanks for the tip!:happy:

    No prob, I figured you might want to skip out on the goiter, probably unattractive under a turtleneck lol :tongue:
  • Fitness_Chick
    Fitness_Chick Posts: 6,648 Member
    yeah, i noticed that too....did you notice that the more "skim" milk becomes, the higher the sodium? that's so weird....

    it's everywhere....i was a huge smart ones and weight watchers junkie back in the day, and wondered why I was always so dang bloated...the sodium levels were usually above 1000 then for each meal! I ate three a day, at least! no wonder I always felt bloated...

    the cleaner you eat, the better...

    did you know that sea salt is an awesome alternative? yes, you get some sodium, but it has tons of minerals that most of us are lacking! i love that stuff, and i just sprinkle it on my food from time to time and enjoy the crunchy little bursts of salty goodness, without feeling guilty (or hella bloated)...

    I love the change over to sea salt... pretty awesome just a teensy bit can really pop the flavors in a dish. So I'm with you on that!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: now off to get my water fix...

    cause "These Pretzels are making me thirsty!" ':laugh:

    Sea salt does lack iodine, so if you're making a permanent switch make sure your diet, multivitamin, or a supplement will be supplying sufficient iodine. An iodine deficiency will result in a sluggish thyroid.

    Thanks for the tip!:happy:

    No prob, I figured you might want to skip out on the goiter, probably unattractive under a turtleneck lol :tongue:
    :laugh: :drinker: funny girl you are!:tongue:
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
    I read a great article the other day about sodium and it suggested that you consume about 1mg of sodium per calorie that you're consuming. So, if you consume 1400 cals, it's appropriate to consume about 1400mg of sodium. Just one more thought out there :tongue:
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    I don't know what the recommendation is but I found this when I was doing other research...this is from an article in "Men's Health" magazine that was debunking some common food myths.

    Myth number five: Salt causes high blood pressure and should be avoided

    The origin: In the 1940s, a Duke University researcher named Walter Kempner, M.D., became famous for using salt restriction to treat people with high blood pressure. Later, studies confirmed that reducing salt could help reduce hypertension.

    What science really shows: Large-scale scientific reviews have determined there's no reason for people with normal blood pressure to restrict their sodium intake. Now, if you already have high blood pressure, you may be "salt sensitive." As a result, reducing the amount of salt you eat could be helpful.

    However, it's been known for the past 20 years that people with high blood pressure who don't want to lower their salt intake can simply consume more potassium-containing foods. Why? Because it's really the balance of the two minerals that matters. In fact, Dutch researchers determined that a low potassium intake has the same impact on your blood pressure as high salt consumption does. And it turns out, the average guy consumes 3,100 milligrams (mg) of potassium a day—1,600 mg. less than recommended.

    The bottom line: Strive for a potassium-rich diet, which you can achieve by eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and legumes. For instance, spinach, broccoli, bananas, white potatoes and most types of beans each contain more than 400 mg. potassium per serving.
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