Should I be worried I'm not meeting my sodium target

tremoneboy
tremoneboy Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just 5 days into my mfp journey, meeting calorie target so far but I note I am not hitting the sodium target, not even close. Should I be concerned and what foods can I eat to up the level?

Replies

  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    Me too. Id be interested in the answers but i dont really see it as a problem as itsxa maximum figure not a target.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    In real life this might be an issue but the entry of salt / sodium grams / milligrams into the database by members is not reliable on MFP.
  • tremoneboy
    tremoneboy Posts: 7 Member
    Cheers, I was a bit concerned as last year I completed my first half marathon and collapsed on the finishing line, long story short it was hypnotremia which in lay mans terms is flushing all the sodium from your body by excessive consumption of water-weirdest thing was until mile 12 it was going so well.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
    I don't know about the risks of not meeting it in general, but I do know that when my doctor tried to put me into ketosis I was supposed to up my sodium. So, if you are eating very low carb, you may want to watch that.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2016
    No, doesn't matter -- its a max -- and likely you are underreporting. Are you logging all salt you add to food?

    If you are a long distance runner you may want to supplement. I have electrolyte tables for 2-3 hour+ workouts.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    edited February 2016
    You want to have sodium to help keep your electrolytes in balance (along with potassium--I think the optimal mix is a 3:1 potassium:sodium ratio). However, sodium is linked to high blood pressure (one of the reasons many people with high blood pressure are placed on low sodium (DASH) diets). I try to think of it as a cap, rather than a target. I have a very prevalent family history of HBP. :neutral:
  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
    A lot of salt is mixed with iodine, which is a necessary element in the production of Thryoxine (your thyroid, which regulates your metabolism), so make sure you're at least getting your iodone
  • hev481
    hev481 Posts: 45 Member
    If you have high BP then low sodium is a good thing. If your blood pressure is normal, then don't spend too much time worrying about it unless you are doing a lot of cardio and sweating a lot and are not consuming ANY sodium at all (then you could add a sports drink or something). Or if you are getting headaches, you could try adding a little salt in given that you are also hydrating well enough (sometimes drastically cutting down salt will give people headaches).

    If you don't have a problem, don't worry too much about it. "Water follows salt" as the saying goes, which is why you feel bloated and hold on to water weight when you consume meals higher in sodium. You can always add more in if needed!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Do you add salt to the foods you cook/eat? If you do but don't log it, you likely are getting enough for the average person and then some.

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