How important is sodium?
Options
callumwalker1995
Posts: 389 Member
I cut out sodium/salt drastically from my diet when I started training because of the stigma of water weight and general health but recently I've been feeling dizzy and disorientated which are signs of low sodium levels and water/sodium imbalances which bearing in mind I drink about 1.5 gallons of water per day made me think. I go under 1000mg of sodium per day yet I exercise for 2.5 hours 6x a week. Am I not replacing my sodium levels? How much sodium should an athlete or anyone into exercise consume?
0
Replies
-
That is too much water. The eight cups a day that MFP recommends is good for most people. Keep in mind that we get liquids in our foods too.0
-
Getting Sodium and Potassium too low, and water too high will poison you. Sodium is not the devil. Get that intake back up. You may not be following my WoE, but from someone who runs keto, I learned the hard way that too little sodium will make you feel like total *kitten*. I pull in around 5000-6000 mg per day. Though you probably won't need that much, unless you specifically have high blood pressure, there's no reason to cut it as low as you have.0
-
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Getting Sodium and Potassium too low, and water too high will poison you. Sodium is not the devil. Get that intake back up. You may not be following my WoE, but from someone who runs keto, I learned the hard way that too little sodium will make you feel like total *kitten*. I pull in around 5000-6000 mg per day. Though you probably won't need that much, unless you specifically have high blood pressure, there's no reason to cut it as low as you have.
I realise that now mate! Would you say 2000 is still too low? I'm just afraid of the bloating and increase in weight from too much sodium0 -
-
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Getting Sodium and Potassium too low, and water too high will poison you. Sodium is not the devil. Get that intake back up. You may not be following my WoE, but from someone who runs keto, I learned the hard way that too little sodium will make you feel like total *kitten*. I pull in around 5000-6000 mg per day. Though you probably won't need that much, unless you specifically have high blood pressure, there's no reason to cut it as low as you have.
Btw wth do you eat to get 5000mg a day0 -
IF you have heart disease or IF you have kidney disease, then restricting sodium can be helpful. Otherwise, don't bother and drink water when you feel thirsty. It's nothing for me to drink 2 liters during a workout. I don't go looking to add salt, but I don't track it either.1
-
callumwalker1995 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Getting Sodium and Potassium too low, and water too high will poison you. Sodium is not the devil. Get that intake back up. You may not be following my WoE, but from someone who runs keto, I learned the hard way that too little sodium will make you feel like total *kitten*. I pull in around 5000-6000 mg per day. Though you probably won't need that much, unless you specifically have high blood pressure, there's no reason to cut it as low as you have.
Btw wth do you eat to get 5000mg a day
My journal is public. Feel free to have a look. If you have any questions about the things listed that are complete foods (soups, frittatas, etc) shoot me a message and I'll get you a link to the recipes.0 -
Keep sodium above 1800 Mg most days unless your doctor has told you otherwise. It's actually a vitally important part of your body's electrolyte balance. And getting too much sodium, for someone with no complicating factors, really isn't that big a deal, because your kidneys process it out within a few hours.
An interesting, and often overlooked, aspect of 'bloat' and water weight is the sheer amount of water necessary to digest food. It can take up to half your body's water contents to process a big meal. And you still drink water during that time, and hold on to it, because your body signals thirst to keep your blood from getting too thick in that time. 48-72 hours later, the water is reabsorbed at the end of digestion and then peed off, leading to that 3 days of water weight and then drop that we are all familiar with.0 -
Too little sodium can be very bad for you! When I worked outside in the Texas heat and humidity, I drank a TON of water every day, and craved pickles all of the time. It was because I needed the sodium to counter some of the water I drank, and nutrients that I sweated out. Unless you are sodium-sensitive, I see no reason to cut salt / sodium. I live in the South where salt is heavily used, and my BP and vitals are great. If you drink plenty of water, you shouldn't get the "sodium bloat" much / for long.1
-
-
spacecase76 wrote: »Too little sodium can be very bad for you! When I worked outside in the Texas heat and humidity, I drank a TON of water every day, and craved pickles all of the time. It was because I needed the sodium to counter some of the water I drank, and nutrients that I sweated out. Unless you are sodium-sensitive, I see no reason to cut salt / sodium. I live in the South where salt is heavily used, and my BP and vitals are great. If you drink plenty of water, you shouldn't get the "sodium bloat" much / for long.
Brilliant thank you mate
0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »callumwalker1995 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Getting Sodium and Potassium too low, and water too high will poison you. Sodium is not the devil. Get that intake back up. You may not be following my WoE, but from someone who runs keto, I learned the hard way that too little sodium will make you feel like total *kitten*. I pull in around 5000-6000 mg per day. Though you probably won't need that much, unless you specifically have high blood pressure, there's no reason to cut it as low as you have.
Btw wth do you eat to get 5000mg a day
My journal is public. Feel free to have a look. If you have any questions about the things listed that are complete foods (soups, frittatas, etc) shoot me a message and I'll get you a link to the recipes.
I'll check it out bro many thanks0 -
Keep sodium above 1800 Mg most days unless your doctor has told you otherwise. It's actually a vitally important part of your body's electrolyte balance. And getting too much sodium, for someone with no complicating factors, really isn't that big a deal, because your kidneys process it out within a few hours.
An interesting, and often overlooked, aspect of 'bloat' and water weight is the sheer amount of water necessary to digest food. It can take up to half your body's water contents to process a big meal. And you still drink water during that time, and hold on to it, because your body signals thirst to keep your blood from getting too thick in that time. 48-72 hours later, the water is reabsorbed at the end of digestion and then peed off, leading to that 3 days of water weight and then drop that we are all familiar with.
It's weird how I've actually got to concentrate on upping my sodium when others can eat 5000mg without trouble! I struggle to get to 2000!0 -
My grandmother fainted and had to be rushed to the hospital when I was at her house one night. The cause: low sodium. So yeah, sodium is important. And if you're exercising you're losing electrolytes which need to be replenished. And you drink a lot of water which will flush them as well. 1000mg is way too low, the fact that you're dizzy and disoriented is a sign of low sodium. Also, did you know you actually need a certain amount of sodium in your body to stay hydrated properly? I didn't until that scare with my grandmother and the Dr. told me that.0
-
It's very important. It's an essential nutrient. Too much or too little can be bad. Don't confuse recommendations to limit something as a recommendation to cut it from your diet completely.2
-
Thanks everyone. Anyone have any advice for sodium rich sources? Fats, protein or carbs0
-
spacecase76 wrote: »
There is absolutely no science behind that recommendation, the whole culture of hyperhydration was developed as a way of selling sports drinks. Trust your thirst......
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
OP based on your water consumption (probably way more than you need, I'd be spending the whole day peeing if i drank that much) and exercise you're getting way too little sodium. You're a prime candidate for hyponatremia (which has killed people.....) cut back on your water and eat a bag of potato chips stat!0 -
It's an essential electrolyte...you can definitely have too little, particularly if you're training and also drinking a lot of water. IMO the sodium fear mongering has caused a lot of problems...yes, you can have too much but you can also have too little...and unfortunately a lot of people just don't seem to understand that there's this huge middle ground in there that is perfectly acceptable.1
-
While you're tracking your sodium intake, track your potassium, also. They go hand-in-hand; and, if you're increasing your sodium, you definitely need to increase your potassium proportionately.0
-
While you're tracking your sodium intake, track your potassium, also. They go hand-in-hand; and, if you're increasing your sodium, you definitely need to increase your potassium proportionately.
I would defo think I'm getting enough potassium sweet potato avocado banana asparagus mushrooms etc0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 399 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 981 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions