Why should we avoid sodium and salt in diet?

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tahirasahar
tahirasahar Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I hav some questions, would really appreciate if anyone could help ! What damages does sodium make to our diet? What foods should we avoid that r rich in sodium? Does sodium cause problems for ppl with hypothyroidism to lose weight? Thanks !!

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  • abellante_0205
    abellante_0205 Posts: 368 Member
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    salt causes water retention.
  • Hernandezedw
    Hernandezedw Posts: 284
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    My wife has high blood pressure. Sodium affects it negatively.
  • gentlebreeze2
    gentlebreeze2 Posts: 450 Member
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    This will give you some insite on how sodium works...

    http://health.msn.com/health-topics/osteoporosis/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100238578&GT1=31038
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Yes, salt causes water retention, which is frustrating on the scale, but it does much more than that. Your body needs a certain balance of sodium and potassium (among other things) to work properly. Pretty much every cell in your body relies on this balance. If you consume too much sodium, your body must draw extra water into the blood stream (water retention) to balance things out. This increases your blood volume and puts more stress on your entire cardiovascular system - heart included. Because of this, a high sodium diet can make you prone to high blood pressure, which then contributes to a whole host of other problems. A huge domino effect.

    Some salt is essential for our bodies to function - but we really only need about 500 mg/day - most of us can get that without even trying!
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
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    People wrongly focus too much on water retention when facing the scales. You NEED water, bottom line, so don't go stop drinking it just to lose a pound or two.

    As far as sodium intake, per the Mayo Clinic recommendations:

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284
  • Q9S7
    Q9S7 Posts: 74 Member
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    bump*accountantboi*. Nice post. One must figure out your their specific needs. I'd just want to add that some studies show (in trained subjects (ie. atheletes) increased levels of sodium are acceptable basically due to the increased activity level. I myself lift hard and heavy and have found 2500-3500mg sodium keeps my body happy. Note, none of my sodium comes from salting my food etc..
  • tahirasahar
    tahirasahar Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks ppl :) you guys r awesome !! :):) one more question...i read somewhere that artificial.sweeteners cause the body to get dense, is that a myth? Can i use artificial sweetener in my tea without negatively affecting my health? Thanks !!
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Thanks ppl :) you guys r awesome !! :):) one more question...i read somewhere that artificial.sweeteners cause the body to get dense, is that a myth? Can i use artificial sweetener in my tea without negatively affecting my health? Thanks !!

    There is no definitive answer on this. Some people claim that artificial sweeteners are horrible for you and others say that they're perfectly healthy. There's no direct scientific evidence for either side.
  • Larius
    Larius Posts: 507 Member
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    Thanks ppl :) you guys r awesome !! :):) one more question...i read somewhere that artificial.sweeteners cause the body to get dense, is that a myth? Can i use artificial sweetener in my tea without negatively affecting my health? Thanks !!

    The risks depend on the specific sweetener. In my opinion, Sucralose (Splenda) is the safest.
  • tahirasahar
    tahirasahar Posts: 20 Member
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    heers !!
  • crystalmichelle82
    crystalmichelle82 Posts: 249
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    according to a nutritionist in Beachbody Ashley Grimwade she uses Splenda but Truvia, Pure Via, equal and whatever are all #similar# not exactly the same so i dont want to get anybody upset by saying that. I use splenda but i dont drink that much tea (although i love it) and i dont use sweetener a lot b/c i put fruit in almost everything and that has natural sugar in it. Hope that helps but you have a lot of responses so good luck to you! :smile:
  • tahirasahar
    tahirasahar Posts: 20 Member
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    :) thanks crystalpaul,.that was indeed helpful !!
  • tahirasahar
    tahirasahar Posts: 20 Member
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    :) thanks crystalpaul,.that was indeed helpful !!

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