Sodium is NOT the bad :P

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  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    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.
  • AngelaPowPowPOW
    AngelaPowPowPOW Posts: 293
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    When people on MFP complain of water weight, or not seeing the scales move, even after watching what they eat and exercising, it would surely be reasonable to say, watch your sodium and drink more water.


    Well said. After I have a sodium bingefest, it takes me three days of flushing it out of my system to start losing again. Why work out everyday when i have to take three days to recoup from excess sodium from processed this and that and salty treats? I'd rather spend those three days gaining muscle or losing inches.
  • TTHdred
    TTHdred Posts: 380 Member
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    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.
  • AngelaPowPowPOW
    AngelaPowPowPOW Posts: 293
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    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.
    I was agreeing with you, but yeah.
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
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    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.
  • Melinda1987
    Melinda1987 Posts: 130
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    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.

    OMG tell me 'bout it! I must have HUGE pores or MASSIVE amounts of salt in me - 'cause after I sweat & it dries, I can literally wipe grains of salt off my face!! Well they're grains of something and taste salty so whatever. (Yes I tasted them - ewww me if u like :tongue: )
  • Melinda1987
    Melinda1987 Posts: 130
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    ...
    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 agree! I think I was a bit too flippant in my original post. I am not saying "chug all the salt you want! Hell - dump the whole salt box on yer fries!!" I was just saying that it's not something I'm concerned with. I weight nearly 300 lbs. I am NOT going to beat myself up aiming for freakin PERFECTION in "O I gotta watch my calories, watch my fat, watch my carbs, watch my sodium - *kitten* I gotta eat cardboard!!! O no - that's too much fiber!" :laugh: At THIS point in my weight-loss journey I'm watching calories and getting in at least 30 mins a day of cardio. 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.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    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.

    Salt isn't bad, but if you over indulge in it the possibility of it becoming something bad within you is a fact. You are young now so you think you are invincible as most young people do. But I suggest you not to through caution in the wind. I don't have high blood pressure nor do I have it in my family history but I still don't want to take advantage of that. So yes I watch my sodium and majority of the time is below 1500 a day.

    Now if I decide to eat out or get my alaskan king crab legs...well my sodium intake is shot for the day and on those days I do retain water and I've gained 5lbs of water weight from excess sodium intake. (I know you didn't make the 5lbs comment but I just stuck it in here).

    Flushing your system is awesome for those that over indulge once in a while but who wants to have to do this everyday... I don't want to drink more water than I have to because I want to consume more salt. I run to the bathroom enough already.

    MOO
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    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. :)
  • MyFriendLinn
    MyFriendLinn Posts: 102 Member
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    I think the big problem with salt/sodium is we have too much of it. I was a totaly salt-aholic, and now I have very limited amounts of sea salt, a better choice, in my opinion. Problem is we are getting way too much salt, there is a ton of salt in processed foods, canned foods and even frozen food entrees. They also add a ton of salt into restaurant foods.

    So if you are going to use salt, I'd check the daily count of salt is 2300 mg a day, if you are 1500 mg of salt is you are 51 or older. A spoonfull of salt is 2325 mg.

    So, like you count calories, I would recommend, you also count the mg of salt. and check out sea salt.

    Recovering Salt-aholice,
  • Vkoons3
    Vkoons3 Posts: 122 Member
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    Lowering the sodium intake I think is also one of the hardest problems I face in eating healthier. The other problem I have with this even though I am a salt a holic I have extremely low blood pressure and my sodium levels when I go to the doctor are always low and he tells me to get more sodium in my diet. I always have to laugh at this and then I tell him how I add salt to evertyhing and I mean practically every thing I eat . So with that being said it may be best to talk to your doctor and see what he says about your levels of sodium and how it will affect you. I don't know why my body doesnt hold onto the sodium maybe the way that it should and I am sure that it will one day catch up to me and I do have high blood pressure and heart disease that runs in my family so that scares me . Do what makes you happy and I do think that as you continue to eat healthier your sodium will decrease on its own without you even realizing it. Keep up the good work on your way to a healthier lifestyle.
  • Yocum1219
    Yocum1219 Posts: 400 Member
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    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'll admit, too much without enough water...I can tell on those days (well, the scale shows it). And I do try to be more concious of my sodium, but I'm never under the MFP amount...never. I LOVE my seasonings!! If you have a medical condition that your Dr says you MUST cut back on sodium to correct, then I would listen to your Dr. But for those of us blessed enough to be able to flush it out of our bodies & still be on the right track...leave us be. My weight is coming off, I have more energy, and I'm a healthier person. Do you really want me to focus so much on one aspect that I get discouraged? I know I may have a genetic predisposition of BP to worry about in future years, but for now, I'm working on the calories portion of my life. I'll work on sodium later, if I have to.
  • kaytedawg05
    kaytedawg05 Posts: 209
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    i'm always over in my sodium... bp 111/55 so hmmmmm.... what's a girl to do... i'm not worried about my salt one bit... i think its all much more related to our blood sugar than our sodium level... and more & more research is looking into that... If you're drinking lots of water and having a lil bit of mild diuretic like tea & coffee (and gosh who isn't??) plus working up a sweat several times a week... well u are depleting your salt constantly..

    now if you never work yourself up into a sweat and say u only pee twice a day... for peet's sake.. lay off the salt... no no ...dont''' JUST GET SWEATIN!! geesh.
  • delilah122
    delilah122 Posts: 41
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    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 :wink:


    This might explain why I have such cravings for salt and have to include pretzels in my 1200 calorie diet. I've been seeing a neurologist for the last several years because of migraine headaches and we have them under control with a combination of Topomax and a blood pressure medication, even though I never had high blood pressure. As a result, my pressure is quite low, and I think my body craves the salt to counteract this.
  • cmmull67
    cmmull67 Posts: 170 Member
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    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...

    from the horses mouth...I have lost approx 45 lbs in the last 5 1/2 months. I don't pay much attention to sodium for a number of reasons; 1) I live in Florida where we sweat tons, 2) I drink more than 100 oz/day of non-caffeinated liquids, and 3) my BP just yesterday was 118/70.

    Sodium is not the sole factor in BP issues. In fact, being in a high heat environment where sweat is a way of life, higher sodium is probably better to replenish the lost sodium through sweat. Genetics play as much a factor in BP though, or more. My ex-wife has perennial high BP, she watches her sodium, eats potassium rich foods, exercises, and still needs BP meds...so sodium is not the culprit.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    Sodium is not the sole factor in BP issues.
    Nobody said it was.

    BP is not the sole factor regarding sodium intake.
  • SarzWix
    SarzWix Posts: 21 Member
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    http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v104/n1/full/6605993a.html

    "Conclusion: Our results support the view that salt intake is an important dietary risk factor for gastric cancer [...]"
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    Every body requires salt. Just like your body lets you know when it's thirsty and needs water, your body also lets you know when it's not getting salt.

    Yes, sodium and salt will make you retain water, if you are not drinking enough water. You can drink soda waters, juice, etc. all day long, but water is the thing that will get rid of the retention.

    Your immune system have to work over time to get the water out of the soda water, juice, etc. that you drink. Don't make things hard for the body. Make water your number one drink.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    It's different for everyone. The younger we are, the less sodium will play a problem in the short term. It towards the end of my list of things to worry about.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    In the UK we are recommended to have no more than 6 grams of salt a day. That's 6000 mg. 2 grams for children under 5. People eating 500mg a day are not getting anywhere near enough, especially if they are exercising or in hot climates. I get bad cramps when I cut down my salt intake, and I have low blood pressure.

    My son has one kidney, and even his paediatric nutritionist says up to 2g (2000g) of salt a day is no problem at all, and he's a small 3 year old.

    Perspective, people.

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