Keep your sodium intake between 1000-1500mg/day

That says most people are eating 3500. MFP has their max set at 2500. As people get more active and sweat more they need more sodium, easily twice what the average person needs. Although I agree that many who are just starting out should be aware of their intake, only certain medical conditions require a low sodium intake.

Appropriate sodium intake is more about context than a set number.

It would be extremely hard to stay at 1000 mg/day. You would need to eliminate virtually all prepared / packaged foods and all added salt, and still it would be hard. 1000 mg is about 1 cup of cottage cheese. Unachievable "recommendations" are not helpful.

Without any health issues, there is nothing wrong with 2500 mg sodium intake. 1000-1500 mgs a day is ridiculously low for most people.

Leana088 wrote: »

Eh. I don't seem to have a high sodium problem. Because I always have low blood pressure. And my doctor is always nagging me to eat more salt.

This is me as well and I tend to stay around the MFP recommendation. Barring medical conditions you don't have to go that low with your sodium intake.

With my history of kidney stones my doctor wants me to have a goal of 1500 mg. Very hard to achieve but I keep trying. I use Mrs. Dash on everything I need to add spice to...the Extra Hot version is really quite good. Try them all, there are many varieties of Mrs. Dash.

My Dietician says 2500 is fine and I am over 50 but very active. there is some new research showing even 3500 is fine (sorry don't have it handy). The Canadian source is known to have a very low recommendation.

Wow, just checked my diary and I very rarely go over 1500mg.

On days when I'm eating mostly food at home (mix of packaged and fresh whole foods), I get about the MFP recommended 2300. That was never on purpose--it just turned out that way. Last time I had a blood test to check for sodium, it was actually low. (I often feel dizzy when I stand, so the doc I guess thought it was necessary to check.)

Like others have said, it's extremely dangerous to drink a lot of water and not get enough salt. This was told to me by more than one doctor. (I only drink water, with the exception of an occasional coffee or tea.) One doctor warned me to get enough salt, or I risked water intoxication. (Keep in mind, I never drink more than 12 cups of water a day, and it's usually 9-10, so this is especially true for people who drink more than me, I assume, based on what he said.) And it is a scientific fact that water must be balanced with electrolytes for a healthy body.

People with kidney problems and salt-sensitive high blood pressure (and some other medical conditions) obviously do need to watch their salt intake, but for the rest of us? That Canadian chart the OP posted, the left column is for adequate intake. That sounds like what you need without keeling over. The column on the right is the upper range of recommended intake, which is what MFP recommends. So, my question is, if there's a range that big, why aim for the lowest number? Do they just assume we'll eat too much sodium if we don't aim that low?

lizrn2008 wrote: »

sheldonklein wrote: »

It would be extremely hard to stay at 1000 mg/day. You would need to eliminate virtually all prepared / packaged foods and all added salt, and still it would be hard.

Eliminating - or even cutting back on - prepared/packaged foods has so many heath benefits! Great point

Thankfully not everyone needs to do that and can enjoy a varied palate of food,

Unless you're one of the unlucky people who develops hypertension from sodium, then I haven't seen much compelling evidence to support lowering your salt intake.

BTW, most prospective studies on sodium have not shown any benefit from lowering it. You're much better off worrying about things have actually been shown to be beneficial like not eating too many calories, getting enough protein, eating veggies, healthy fats, etc.