ADVICE PLEASE: Going over my Sodium intake, is this bad?

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clairabell2024
clairabell2024 Posts: 194 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ive only just added Sodium to my food tracker, and noticed im going over my advised sodium intake, is this a bad thing?

If so what types of food are high in Sodium and should i avoid them?

I'll open my diary if that helps (please ignore my alcohol intake saturday, i logged worse case sinario! Special occasion!)

Any Advice will be appreciated, Many Thanks

xxx

Replies

  • kag1526
    kag1526 Posts: 210 Member
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    Your sodium seems to not be coming from processed foods but stuff you make (shepards pie, yorkshire pudding) are you adding salt to it?

    The soy sauce one day was the culprit there. soy sauce has a TON of sodium.

    Having too much sodium can make you retain water and increases your weight that way. Otherwise I'm not sure its too bad unless you have high blood pressure issues.
  • clairabell2024
    clairabell2024 Posts: 194 Member
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    I think your right about the retaining water thing!

    I didnt add any salt, so im not sure whats caused it! Made from Lamb Mince, potatoes, sweet pots, light flora and pepper to season the lamb a little. :-S

    Thanks

    xx
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    a couple things to note about sodium.

    First, sodium by itself isn't a bad thing, if you don't have high blood pressure, and understand that water weight from sodium is temporary, then going over a bit isn't really that bad, sodium doesn't become dangerous until you are upwards of 6000 mg per day, and even then, it depends a lot of your activity level and your potassium intake.

    Sodium and potassium are opposites in the body, sodium draws water out of cells and into the extracellular areas of the body, making it harder for the body to eliminate excess water, where as potassium shifts the electro-chemical balance the other way, if you eat a lot of natural foods high in sodium, chances are they will have lots of potassium in them as well, it's not that big of a deal.

    The problem of high sodium is essentially more pronounced when you are using added sodium to your diet, in things like sauces, dressings, condiments, and processed foods that contain little or no potassium to offset the sodium balance. Cut out those things and I'm sure you'll be fine, that is assuming you don't have high blood pressure or some other ailment that sodium is known to effect.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I ignore sodium.
    The way I figure it, 3000 is better than the 8000 I was consuming as a fat guy eating like I was eating.

    I'll worrying about that number after reaching goals.
    And I've already lowered cholesterol, BP and weight without sodium reduction as a consideration.

    It's just something you must decide.
  • ScubyUK
    ScubyUK Posts: 271 Member
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    bump

    Want to track this, as my Sodium instake is also quite high, the main culprit being from Smoked Salmon.
    Did not know that about Potassium though!
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    It's not great if you have blood pressure problems. It also causes water retention so you may gain weight that way temporarily, drink lot's of water if you're over.

    I don't ever add salt to foods yet it can sometimes still be very hard to stay under! Foods to watch out for:
    Ready meals, and foods that come in a box (frozen pizza etc) Pizza in general tbh!
    Jars of sauces (pasta sauce, curry sauce, especially stir fry sauce!) tbh most sauces in general are just really high sodium :(
    Bacon & sausages
    Ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise (light mayonnaise is worse I think)
    Seasoned meats (season it yourself)

    Cheese, milk has a little but not as much as the others.

    I'd never say to avoid certain foods altogether, just keep it in moderation. Track your sodium intake, and learn to at least keep it within the guidelines, we do need some sodium in our bodies.
  • kittybitz79
    kittybitz79 Posts: 213
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    I have low blood pressure (hypo tension) so dropping my sodium intake is hard because I can drop to very low pretty easy. Looked at your diet and it wasn't too bad other then shepherd's pie day. You need to find out do you have a blood pressure issue (high or low) If you don't then just try to ween yourself off it slowly. If you do ... you need to find out what is safe for you to do. For me, lowering my sodium meant having salt packs at my desk in case my pressure dropped to much. (sounds gross but it works to jump it when I feel like hell bc my pressure is to low)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Agree with SHboss.

    Also, a sudden increase in sodium is what causes the water retention so if your daily intake was 4000mg consistenty then it wouldn't happen.

    If you are are 1500mg & then you have a 4000mg day (with similar potassium intake as normal day) then you would get water retention.

    Water retention can mask fat loss but it's not the end of the world :smile:
  • clairabell2024
    clairabell2024 Posts: 194 Member
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    Thank you all for help and suggestions, im going to watch out for those sauces and processed food! I try not to add salt to food anyways, but ill be a little more fruggle! My blood pressure is fine, had it checked before christmas when going for a check up.

    Didnt know about the sodium and potassium thing, thats something useful to remember!

    Not sure where i went wrong the Shepherds pie, i did add a stock cube... maybe it was that! :-S

    xx
  • rayleansout
    rayleansout Posts: 234
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    If you can take your sodium down to 1200 or below you wil lose weight quicker. do this for three days and you will probaqbly drop 2-3 pounds right away from water retention.

    This requires eating no processed foods - or foods that come in a bag or box - other than frozen veggies. No water retention, your body works better, heart pumps better, organs work better, metabolism works better. Our bodies were not designed to eat the foods available today - think cave man - wat did they eat, fruits, veggies, fresh meats, nuts without salt.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    If you can take your sodium down to 1200 or below you wil lose weight quicker. do this for three days and you will probaqbly drop 2-3 pounds right away from water retention.

    This requires eating no processed foods - or foods that come in a bag or box - other than frozen veggies. No water retention, your body works better, heart pumps better, organs work better, metabolism works better. Our bodies were not designed to eat the foods available today - think cave man - wat did they eat, fruits, veggies, fresh meats, nuts without salt.

    I bristle at statements like this. Dropping sodium does nothing for "real" weight loss, all it does is lower your sodium content which may cause water loss, which isn't really weight loss at all and would simply make you "feel" better about your weight. And going below 1200 without first being advised by a doctor can be dangerous. Sodium is one of the electrolytes in the body that helps regulate CNS function (Central Nervous System), for a day or so that's not a big deal, but extending extremely low sodium intake (called hyponatremia) over multiple days can have consequences. Some of which are sluggish mental faculties, balance issues, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea, and in extreme cases seizures and coma (but that wouldn't happen on 1200 mg a day unless something else was going on). FYI for the average adult, you need to keep a minimum balance of about 1400 mg of sodium in the body. Also of note is that the more active you are, the more sodium you'll need (as well as other electrolytic minerals) because of the additional loss through sweat and breathing.
    The target sodium levels for adults is generally recognized as being between 2000 and 3500 mg per day if you have not other conditions (for people with high blood pressure and other blood related issues such as COPD it ranges from 1500 to 2500) and changes with age, sex, and physical condition.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    a couple things to note about sodium.

    First, sodium by itself isn't a bad thing, if you don't have high blood pressure, and understand that water weight from sodium is temporary, then going over a bit isn't really that bad, sodium doesn't become dangerous until you are upwards of 6000 mg per day, and even then, it depends a lot of your activity level and your potassium intake.

    Sodium and potassium are opposites in the body, sodium draws water out of cells and into the extracellular areas of the body, making it harder for the body to eliminate excess water, where as potassium shifts the electro-chemical balance the other way, if you eat a lot of natural foods high in sodium, chances are they will have lots of potassium in them as well, it's not that big of a deal.

    The problem of high sodium is essentially more pronounced when you are using added sodium to your diet, in things like sauces, dressings, condiments, and processed foods that contain little or no potassium to offset the sodium balance. Cut out those things and I'm sure you'll be fine, that is assuming you don't have high blood pressure or some other ailment that sodium is known to effect.

    ^^ this. Well said.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    If you can take your sodium down to 1200 or below you wil lose weight quicker. do this for three days and you will probaqbly drop 2-3 pounds right away from water retention.
    That's not entirely true. Yes, the scale will give a smaller number, but you're not really burning any additional fat by keeping sodium low.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Sodium makes you retain water, which makes the scale read a higher number. NOTE: I did NOT say it makes you gain wait. Sodium has no impact on fat gain, muscle development, calorie burns, etc. It makes your body hold water, which makes the scale read a higher number, which can hurt your motivation.
  • CatKin76
    CatKin76 Posts: 13 Member
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    I just added a 3 egg omelette onto my diary and it added 670mg sodium ? really ?
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    as long as you dont have a medical condition (ie high blood pressure) that is affected by high sodium, its not necessarily a bad thing, particularly when it comes naturally in foods (and not from added salt or processed foods).

    that said, it will all make you retain fluid. it falls off pretty quick, but it can make the scale not move for a couple of days if you have an unusually high sodium day.

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