The joys and dangers of SALT

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shggygrl
shggygrl Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
My sodium levels are off the chart. Can someone convince me that this is bad for my health? It seems like any food I eat that is low calorie comes with a high sodium content. I know high blood pressure is a reason to lower salt intake, but I'm 24 years old, and my blood pressure is normal. Does it really matter that much?

Replies

  • Elise1395
    Elise1395 Posts: 17 Member
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    I think that too much of everything is always a bad thing....for me personally, salt has been a big factor in my weight loss. After cutting out frozen meals (which have TONS of salt), I dropped 5 lbs very quickly.
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
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    Negative Effects of Too Much Sodium

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    Most everything the body requires in order to operate properly can turn into a negative if the proper amounts are not ingested, whether it be too little or too much. Sodium is one of those products that can have severe consequences, especially if too much is ingested. Too much sodium can cause swelling or bloating of the extremities. This is primarily because the kidneys are responsible for eliminating salt from the body, and if there is too much salt, the kidneys cannot eliminate it fast enough and you will get fluid retention. The fluid retention is also capable of building around the heart. This will cause the heart to not be able to beat and function properly, which can cause high blood pressure, congestive heart failure or even strokes and heart attacks.


    http://www.ehow.com/about_5166896_adverse-effects-high-sodium-intake.html
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    You won't be 24 for ever . . . what you do to your body now will impact you later in life. You are setting yourself up for early heart disease and/or stroke.
    Stay away from low calorie items, try to stop eating processed and prepared foods as they are FULL of sodium. Opt for fresh items as much as you can.
  • sandram82
    sandram82 Posts: 615 Member
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    bump
  • meshellmybell76
    meshellmybell76 Posts: 139 Member
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    when you say your sodium levels do you mean your actual blood levels or your sodium intake??? If you mean your blood levels, the YES, off the chart levels are a serious problem!!! But if you are just talking about how much sodium you are consuming in a day, then no, I doubt it is a problem. Dietary sodium does not really affect health markers like they once thought it did. In fact, only a small percentage of people are sensitive to sodium as far as its effect on blood pressure.
  • sher0405
    sher0405 Posts: 1
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    I also have.the same issue..but ive cut down on the salt but miss my soups anyone know of any low sodium soups?
  • hroderick
    hroderick Posts: 756 Member
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    It just takes a few days to get used to not salting everything. I like diabetic recipes because they use a lot of spices, even though I'm not diabetic
  • indycello
    indycello Posts: 147 Member
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    water weight ma'dear
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
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    If you make the soup yourself and control how much salt you put in it, you will have low sodium soup.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
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    The Egyptians used salt to embalm with , over 2000 years ago and we still have evidence of it..........

    think about it, its a preservative and we still can see the effects of salt in museums ( mummies)

    I ll pass on salt...................its not our friend......hope this convinces you........Best wishes, Lloyd
  • Becca_007
    Becca_007 Posts: 596 Member
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    You won't be 24 for ever . . . what you do to your body now will impact you later in life. You are setting yourself up for early heart disease and/or stroke.
    Stay away from low calorie items, try to stop eating processed and prepared foods as they are FULL of sodium. Opt for fresh items as much as you can.
    ^ this! Very well put:flowerforyou:
  • kaizen31
    kaizen31 Posts: 74 Member
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    I'm a nursing student, and when I work in the hospitals for school, I see people all the time who were careless with their diets, let their sodium get out of control, and now are in renal failure, not to mention suffering from a host of other problems.

    Even if you have a normal blood pressure right now, you could still be hurting yourself. Plus, the habits you build now will be that much harder to break later. I'm not saying you can't have have some salt (because hey, yummy!) but you should get it under control.
  • Nmama
    Nmama Posts: 191 Member
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    well I looked at your diary. Any processed or canned food (pop tarts, crackers etc) have tons of sodium. Try cutting out the processed and exchanging them for food with less sodium. instead of a pop tart, ww bread with jam or something like that
  • emaybe
    emaybe Posts: 187 Member
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    I'm with you... I'm 26 and I used to literally pour salt into my hand and lick it off. I love salt. It's sick.
  • ubabe1
    ubabe1 Posts: 144 Member
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    I used to put salt on cold chicken, watermelon...then my parents decided to take salt off the table for their health and went with Mrs. Dash and other spices to flavor their foods... I was in college at the time. My diet consisted of dorm food, top ramen and pizza!!! I was very active with aerobics and dancing! After I got married, unfortunately my dinners and lunches went out the door with fast foods and processed meals. Yuck!! My weight increased and I just didn't feel good overall...my husband suffered my same dilema. We decided to change our diet, removed the salt, made all our meals. We also started paying attention to the labels on foods. If the salt per serving size was ridiculous, we just passed it by. We also kept an eye on saturated fats and hydrogenated oils. Once you start this process of elimination it becomes second nature. Even though you are young, everything you do now, whatever you put into your body, will affect you later! This is the time to start managing what you eat and what is in what you eat!! Take a look at all the different spices that are available. Fresh garlic, green onions, ginger...are all great flavors to start enhancing your foods with. You will find what you like and see how wonderful they make foods taste!!! You can do it...you should do it!!!
  • dorktv
    dorktv Posts: 30
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    I'm with you... I'm 26 and I used to literally pour salt into my hand and lick it off. I love salt. It's sick.

    I still do and if you drink a lot of water, not having enough salt can be just as bad as too much.

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