Sodium is NOT the bad :P

well put :drinker:

If this is true it will make me so happy . Can live without sugar, fat , but have been missing salt!

Our bodies need sodium, very true. But unfortunate for me high bp lies in the family. Mine was in the 130s for years, during pregnancies even in the 140s. Since I started losing weight & staying around 2000ms of salt it was come down to the 120s & I have to keep it up. I'm only 26.
Lucky you, I love salt!

Sodium is only one of the many contributory factors towards heart disease, along with age, family history, gender, smoking, weight and diet etc etc.

BUT it is widely accepted by the scientific community that sodium intake IS a factor in heart disease. So, for those who have the major controllable factors under control, such as weight and not smoking, and are still concerned about heart disease, the fact that this site helps them to log it is a great benefit.

While you might personally feel that as you're on top of everything else, it's not worth your worrying about sodium, I'm not entirely comfortable with the message you're putting across that it's unimportant in terms of health.

A friend the other day was questioning how much sodium I take in. And I responded the same way I have to my doctors over the years: "I don't smoke, don't do drugs, rarely drink, and don't have promiscuous sex. Due to my diabetes I try to watch my sugar & carbs. FOR GOD'S SAKE GIVE ME SALT!!!" :laugh: My father was a salt-a-holic and had great blood-pressure. My mom avoided salt and had terrible blood-pressure problems - go figure.

I see people on this site preach anti-sodium because it makes you retain water. Well I've been researching that on the net and that's only true if you don't flush it out of your system with a lot of fluid. I drink over a gallon of iced tea (no sugar, just lemon) a day (yes I know it's a diuretic - I don't care) PLUS my 8 glasses of water. Trust me - whatever sodium I'm taking in is flushed from my system!

And in my research I found this lovely article.
http://www.good.is/post/is-salt-actually-bad-for-you-new-research-adds-to-the-confusion/
And before you say anything - yes I realize that research & stats can be bent anyway you want. Which includes any research that claims salt's bad for u.

Oh Thank you!! The amount of times I hear "the salt is responsible for your 5lb weight gain" drives me crazy!! Surely if we're eating fresh rather than processed salt won't be such an issue anyway??

Oh Thank you!! The amount of times I hear "the salt is responsible for your 5lb weight gain" drives me crazy!! Surely if we're eating fresh rather than processed salt won't be such an issue anyway??

Sodium in excess does cause water retention. Fact.

However, it's irrelevant, because those of us who are here to lose weight should be trying to lose fat, not water!

I have passed out twice from low blood pressure and my dr told me to make sure to eat some extra sodium, followed up alot of fluids, which helps keep everything at a good level. I carry a drink with me everywhere I go and pretzels as well and haven't had a problem since. I love salty foods so I like the dr's orders

Totally disagree. Sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease for years. In fact, most dieticians, doctors, surgeons, personal trainers and holistic "gurus" will tell you that too much sodium will sabotage your diet. The most efficient way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise, and cut back on fat and sodium.
Unsure of this "fact"? Check out the MFP'ers who have lost weight. Not even the ones who lost 'some" but those that have dropped weight BIG TIME. Ask them what they think about the sodium controversy. From the horse's mouth and all that...

I am almost always over on my sodium (usually around 3000mg a day) it hasn't effected my weight loss at all since I drink a ton of water. You also should have a little more sodium in your diet when you exercise a lot since you do sweat some of it out.

Totally disagree. Sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease for years. In fact, most dieticians, doctors, surgeons, personal trainers and holistic "gurus" will tell you that too much sodium will sabotage your diet. The most efficient way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise, and cut back on fat and sodium.
Unsure of this "fact"? Check out the MFP'ers who have lost weight. Not even the ones who lost 'some" but those that have dropped weight BIG TIME. Ask them what they think about the sodium controversy. From the horse's mouth and all that...

I am almost always over on my sodium (usually around 3000mg a day) it hasn't effected my weight loss at all since I drink a ton of water. You also should have a little more sodium in your diet when you exercise a lot since you do sweat some of it out.

IF you exercise a lot. That's the key...or for LOW blood pressure, sure. But to try to lose weight and just say "I'll do this, but not any of that", sodium in copious amounts cannot be helpful. It'd be like saying "I'll run two miles today and then spend the night with a bucket of chicken."...they cancel each other out. You just stay where you are.

An excess of salt is also linked with stomach cancer, if you use it in excess over a long period of time.

However, I do think the OP is correct in that people do get overly hung up on the issue. If you have high blood pressure and have been advised to cut down on salt, fair enough, but otherwise, I think that like everything, balance is the key. If you exercise and perspire, you need to replace salts as well as water.

Totally disagree. Sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease for years. In fact, most dieticians, doctors, surgeons, personal trainers and holistic "gurus" will tell you that too much sodium will sabotage your diet. The most efficient way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise, and cut back on fat and sodium.
Unsure of this "fact"? Check out the MFP'ers who have lost weight. Not even the ones who lost 'some" but those that have dropped weight BIG TIME. Ask them what they think about the sodium controversy. From the horse's mouth and all that...

I am almost always over on my sodium (usually around 3000mg a day) it hasn't effected my weight loss at all since I drink a ton of water. You also should have a little more sodium in your diet when you exercise a lot since you do sweat some of it out.

IF you exercise a lot. That's the key...or for LOW blood pressure, sure. But to try to lose weight and just say "I'll do this, but not any of that", sodium in copious amounts cannot be helpful. It'd be like saying "I'll run two miles today and then spend the night with a bucket of chicken."...they cancel each other out. You just stay where you are.

Well in your first statement you said check with people that have dropped a lot of weight. I thought I qualified for that with almost 90lbs down. In my experience sodium has not effected my weight loss.

I am not saying how it affects anything else other then how it affected MY weight loss.

thanks for sharing. I agree with the OP.
Blows my mind how many people like to say salt is bad.
If you're eating right and excercising, salt isn't going to be a problem.
If you eat poorly, and don't excercise, salt still isn't whats killing you.

I eat over 5000 mgs a day. BP is fine. And I don't retain water unless I go overboard with alcohol.
Get off your butts and excercise instead of trying to say sodium is evil.

That’s just it. I think for many people on here they are not eating right and are trying to learn how to do so. We all need to keep in mind that folks are at different points in their journey. If you’ve been doing this for years, then maybe you already know how to manage your sodium intake. For those just starting out, or don’t find the details of nutrition as fascinating, some simple “rules” or guides to follow may be what they need to get them started and sustained.

Possibly more useful info, would be to remind folks of the daily recommended amount of sodium for an adult (1500-2400g). That's a huge range. Then maybe indicate that health and other factors may have you lower or higher than that number. For example, it sounds like you work out quite a bit. Sodium is used in the production of electrolytes which your body needs after those workouts so it makes sense that you may consumer or even desire more sodium.

That said, I think we can all agree that too much or too little of anything can have adverse effects on health. Heck, you can have too much water! Which is why I think if you find people who say “salt is bad for you” irresponsible, then you should find comments such as “salt is not bad for you” equally as irresponsible.

I think people have to differentiat between "sodium" and "too much sodium" they aren't both the same. The OP is sayign "some" sodium is good not go out and drown your food in salt.

Do I realize that eventually I'll have to add strength training, increase cardio, start watching other factors like fat & sodium? SURE! But right now - let me take my baby steps.

I agree with you about the OP being maybe a bit too flippant, perhaps "I have far "badder" things to worry about right now" was the message you were trying to give, rather than "Sodium is NOT the bad :P", when it's clear from all the scientific studies that "Sodium IS the bad" :bigsmile:

Keep on with your baby steps, and you'll probably find that as you carry on eating more healthily, the sodium will reduce anyway.