cut down on sodium! !!

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89GermanG
89GermanG Posts: 73 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi people, how can I cut down on sodium? Can to much affect my diet?
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    more whole foods; less processed foods. eat out less...restaurants are sodium bombs.

    just remember that sodium is an essential mineral...not getting enough can be as bad as too much.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
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    What's wrong with your current sodium levels? You need sodium to live.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    mops89 wrote: »
    Hi people, how can I cut down on sodium? Can to much affect my diet?

    If your physician has instructed you to cut back on sodium for health reasons, he/she should have provided you some literature on ways to do that and a target number you should be trying to stay within.

    For people who are not sensitive to sodium, there's no hard number you must keep to, but there are some ways to reduce sodium.
    • Eating out can be high sodium, so cooking at home helps you control the sodium you use
    • The sodium on prepared foods (microwave meals, box mixes, etc) can be high, look for low sodium options
    • Make your own spice blends so you can control how much salt is in the mix, or use salt-free blends and season your food with salt separately.
    • Replace your table salt with 'lite' salt, which is a 50-50 blend with potassium chloride. It tastes just as salty, but half the sodium is replaced with potassium.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Look through your food diary and see if you have recurring items that are exceptionally high in sodium, and find ways to reduce them.

    That said, unless you have hypertension or another medical condition, going over on sodium probably isn't a huge deal (other than it may cause you to hold on to a little extra water weight until you flush it through your system).
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition the only way sodium is going to affect you is make you retain water. If that bugs you then trim it down a little bit. Eating out is the kiss of death when it comes to sodium. If you're trying to limit sodium eating out is almost impossible. :)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Please click this link to get reliable info on sodium:

    http://sodiumbreakup.heart.org/sodium-411/

    I struggled with salt until I realized that I just had to start making my own stuff. So, I learned how to make cottage cheese, etc. I just couldn't eat all the processed stuff and still keep my salt I take down.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Sodium deficiency (hyponatremia) is a thing and it isn't something you want. We need sodium to live. Unless your Dr has told you that you need to watch sodium for health reasons don't get too caught up in trying to reduce it.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    shadowfax_c11 wrote: »
    Sodium deficiency (hyponatremia) is a thing and it isn't something you want. We need sodium to live. Unless your Dr has told you that you need to watch sodium for health reasons don't get too caught up in trying to reduce it.
    I've literally never seen or heard of a person who was hyponatremic due to a dietary deficiency of sodium. It's almost always illness and, in rare cases, too much water or too much sweating and too much water (like ultra-endurance athletes.)

    People going under the amount we actually need...never heard of a single case.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    All four of my nieces have been diagnosed with hyponatremia and have to add sodium to their diet. It's a genetic condition on my MIL's side. If they don't add sodium to their food, their sodium levels get way too low and they will pass out. It's an authentic medical condition.... diagnosed by their pediatricians.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Hyponatremia... I have it. Mild, of course. It's about a balance of sodium and water. You can't look at one without looking at the other.

    I'm on a medication that, in the dosage I'm on, makes me ridiculously thirsty with a constant dry mouth and throat. Since I need this medication and need to drink the water, my doctor said that I wasn't eating enough salt to balance my fluid intake.

    I eat very little in the way of packaged food so have to rely on adding my own salt to keep the sodium balance my body needs.
  • 89GermanG
    89GermanG Posts: 73 Member
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    All I know is that to much salt is not good. I'm not sure if I eat to much sodium, I'm just trying to eat healthier. I have thyroid problems and I shouldn't eat to much processed food which contains a lot of sodium.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    mops89 wrote: »
    All I know is that to much salt is not good. I'm not sure if I eat to much sodium, I'm just trying to eat healthier. I have thyroid problems and I shouldn't eat to much processed food which contains a lot of sodium.

    If you have thyroid problems and are on the proper medication, you really don't need to avoid anything, except perhaps excess carbohydrates. "Processed" food is a word you have to be careful with - both milk and anything frozen are processed foods. So is any bread, including any bread you make at home. High amounts of sodium are really only associated with high blood pressure, and only in people who already have to worry about it. As long as you eat in moderation, you should be fine. Sodium's not something you really need to worry about, except for the fact that a lot of it will make you retain water for a couple of days.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    mops89 wrote: »
    All I know is that to much salt is not good. I'm not sure if I eat to much sodium, I'm just trying to eat healthier. I have thyroid problems and I shouldn't eat to much processed food which contains a lot of sodium.

    Here on the MFP forums, if I take a strawberry from my garden and throw it in the freezer, I have technically processed it, so I use the term "convenience foods" instead, although everyone does know what you mean by "processed foods."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_food

    Convenience food, or tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimize ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have a long shelf life, or offer a combination of such convenient traits. Although restaurant meals meet this definition, the term is seldom applied to them. Convenience foods include ready-to-eat dry goods, frozen foods such as TV dinners, shelf-stable foods, prepared mixes such as cake mix, and snack foods.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Don't reduce sodium unless your doc advised that. Too little has its own hazards. E.g. after a vasovagal syncope episode in my 20's, my GP sent me to a cardiologist. Net: everything was fine but he advised increasing dietary salt. (I have low blood pressure.)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Check your micronutrients level in your food log. The official recommended amount of sodium for the average person is 2300mg per day or about 1 teaspoon. That's a lot of shaking of the salt shaker, but if you're eating convenience food, it can add up fast. Use this recommendation as a guide regarding whether you need/want to change your sodium intake.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Unless you have a medical condition, there really is no need to reduce sodium, I very much doubt you are getting too much! Plus sodium does lots of good things and makes food taste nice!

    Just eat it in moderation! Like everything else!
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    shadowfax_c11 wrote: »
    Sodium deficiency (hyponatremia) is a thing and it isn't something you want. We need sodium to live. Unless your Dr has told you that you need to watch sodium for health reasons don't get too caught up in trying to reduce it.
    I've literally never seen or heard of a person who was hyponatremic due to a dietary deficiency of sodium. It's almost always illness and, in rare cases, too much water or too much sweating and too much water (like ultra-endurance athletes.)

    People going under the amount we actually need...never heard of a single case.

    So you know everyone's medical diagnosis everywhere? Yeah... Didn't think so.

  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    I've literally never seen or heard of a person who was hyponatremic due to a dietary deficiency of sodium. It's almost always illness and, in rare cases, too much water or too much sweating and too much water (like ultra-endurance athletes.)

    People going under the amount we actually need...never heard of a single case.

    Sure there is. Vasovagal syncope and postural othostatic hypotension. Meds were quite expensive when I was diagnosed years ago by a Johns Hopkins cardiologist, but eventually an increase in dietary sodium, salt tablets and increase in water intake helped regulate my blood volume & low blood pressure enough to ditch the meds. He said it's actually a radically underdiagnosed condition in its milder stages, and the anti-sodium health kick is not helping.

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited August 2015
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    shadowfax_c11 wrote: »
    Sodium deficiency (hyponatremia) is a thing and it isn't something you want. We need sodium to live. Unless your Dr has told you that you need to watch sodium for health reasons don't get too caught up in trying to reduce it.
    I've literally never seen or heard of a person who was hyponatremic due to a dietary deficiency of sodium. It's almost always illness and, in rare cases, too much water or too much sweating and too much water (like ultra-endurance athletes.)

    People going under the amount we actually need...never heard of a single case.

    So you know everyone's medical diagnosis everywhere? Yeah... Didn't think so.
    I specifically excluded people with medical issues and said I've never heard of anyone with a dietary deficiency. The required amount for people without some medical issue is very small, like 1/3 or less of the 1500 advised for many people.

    It's common on MFP to read people saying that nobody has to worry about their salt intake until it causes cardiovascular issues, but that's an MFP thing, not what experts advise.

    This 2300 number is a maximum and isn't even advised by many. It excludes people who have a history of various cardiovascular issues, people over 40 and black people. That's a lot of people. Even backing out medical issues, that is still only white people under 40 years of age.

    Is it possible that someone became hyponatremic because they didn't take in enough salt? Sure. But it's a freaking rare occurrence and one I've never seen or heard anyone mention.

    I don't care if someone wants to eat 50,000g of sodium a day. Chow down. I'm not trying to make anyone lower their salt intake. I'm just saying that this idea of needing to make sure you get enough...it's not a problem for anyone I've ever heard of. Ever.

    I'm sure that MFPers will now be coming out of the cracks to say, "I was hospitalized because I only ate 100mg a day for months!" but if it's happened, it's an exceedingly rare thing.
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