interesting take on sodium intake

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chrisdavey
chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
in Food and Nutrition
http://www.t-nation.com/strength-training-topics/469

You May Be Shooting Yourself In The Foot
by Christian Thibaudeau - 02/18/2011
I'm not the nutrition guy. I do know about nutrition because as somebody who is passionate about training, gaining muscle and becoming lean it's part of the stuff I need to know. I'm good with general nutrition concepts. What foods to eat, when to eat them and how much. However when it comes to fine details I leave that to guys like Shugs, Dr. Lowery, Shelby and Meadows.

However there is one nutritional detail that pisses me off... the demonization of salt.

YES I understand that too much sodium can *possibly* lead to edema/water retention in some people which can lead to high blood pressure.

YES I agree that TOO much salt/sodium in your diet is potentially harmful.

However understand that the bad stuff happens due to severe excess and that taking in too little sodium is actually just as bad as taking too much if your goal is to get muscular and strong.

First of all sodium is required for muscle contraction and neural transmission. Look it up; symptoms of sodium deficiency include weakness and apathy... not something you want if you want to pick up heavy things!

Sodium is also required to maintain water balance. It can help prevent dehydration especially in hard training athletes. As little as a 3% drop in weight from water loss leads to impaired physical and mental performance.

Those who are also into the more advanced nutritional stuff will also be interested to know that sodium is necessary to maintain a proper acid-base balance. If that's out of whack every single metabolic process is made less efficient.

Sodium increases other mineral's solubility in blood, which means that they are more easily absorbed and used.

"Yeah but I don't want to look bloated, I want to stay dry and hard!"

It's not sodium that does that... well it does to some degree because sodium is related to extracellular water balance. But ingesting sodium will not make you hold water... ingesting a lot more sodium that the body is used to will make you hold water.

If you normally eat a low-sodium diet and you decide to visit the local fast-food joint OF COURSE you'll be bloated as hell. You just shoved in your weekly (or even monthly) intake of sodium in one meal!!!

IF YOU ALWAYS EAT A LOW SODIUM DIET, THE SLIGHTEST JACKING UP OF YOUR SODIUM INTAKE WILL MAKE YOU BLOATED OVER THE SHORT RUN.

But if you consume a normal, not excessive, sodium intake daily you will be much less affected by occasional fluctuation.

Sure deciding to go from low-sodium to normal sodium will lead to some water retention. BUT ONLY UNTIL THE BODY ADAPTS. After which it will regulate itself and you will come back to normal even despite your sodium intake.

Bodybuilders make the mistake of cutting sodium too soon for too long. They want to stay dry. But come contest time, if they have been low sodium for weeks and months then they don't have anything to cut to get that extra dryness.

And as I mentioned if strength or building muscle is your goal, without a sufficient sodium intake you will never reach peak performance and your results will suffer.

And the more and harder you train, the more sodium you need.

Replies

  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    I don't know the science on it, but it's another example of "everything in moderation". I am a firm believer that things don't have to be cut out completely. High fat foods (ie butter, cream), salt, red meat, carbs - etc.
  • Still_Sossy
    Still_Sossy Posts: 868 Member
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    Awesome read, thank you for the info. I never add salt to anything. I just assume that there is enough hidden in other foods. But since I have been trying to eat "clean" I probably need to pay more attention to my sodium intake. I will admit I am afraid of retaining water. So it seems to be a delicate balance.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    That's it, it is all a balance :)

    I don't actually add salt to anything anymore either for the same reasons. I'm sure I am at the higher end of the sodium scale so I just make sure I get cholesterol tested every now and again to check I am all good :)
  • portlandsundevil
    portlandsundevil Posts: 213 Member
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    *bump*
  • DeeMonjure2B
    DeeMonjure2B Posts: 12 Member
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    I never EVER add salt to anything. Not really crazy about it. I assume theres enough hidden in some of the things I eat. Sucks that i just looked at some of my diaries and Im over every dang time. I eat fairly clean most days too. Its a bit irritating. I knew too much salt could hender progress. Just when I get my main macros balanced the way I want. Grrrrrrr, always something but thanks for the heads up. Ive been meaning to check it anyway. :)
  • DaddyMantz
    DaddyMantz Posts: 145 Member
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    I have normal blood pressure and I try to keep my sodium below 5000mg. I eat at restaurants a LOT and I often go over. When I have about 8000mg of sodium, I start to feel it; My wedding ring is a little tight and my throat is sore. My sodium intake, however, has never affected my weight loss journey.

    As a side note, my dad was in the hospital a couple weeks ago for 5 days due to low sodium. It was an unfortunate side effect of his prostate surgery but low sodium in the body no joke. It causes arrhythmias and a quick, painless death. Low sodium diets are perfectly fine but I bet that people who go on extremely low sodium diets and then drink too much water can really have some problems.
  • kadye
    kadye Posts: 136 Member
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    It can cause BIG problems. A normal sodium blood level is also necessary for proper brain function. I work in an intensive care unit and you would not believe what even a small drop in sodium can do. It is also very hard to get it back up, usually requiring IV infusion of very salty fluid. Normal saline has 0,9% sodium and we have to use fluid with 3% sodium for days to get some people's level back up. Pair this with too much water and it can really be bad news. I have seen young people die from this. There is actually a condition called "water intoxication". Too little sodium and too much water can cause cells to swell and even burst. This can cause a very irregular heartbeat, fluid in the lungs, seizures, etc. Please don't think sodium is terrible and gallons of water is great. Moderation is key.

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