Effects of too much Sodium
JFischer00
Posts: 3 Member
I started using MFP about a week ago and everything's been going pretty well. However, the one thing I seem to have a hard time staying under my limit on food-wise is sodium. I tried doing a little research about why it's important to keep sodium levels down, but it all seemed very complicated and technical. Can someone answer this question for me in plain English?
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Replies
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If you eat a lot of sodium you can retain water... simple as that unless there's medical issues involved.0
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Fugeddaboutit.
If your doctor has ordered you to keep your sodium below a number do so. Otherwise. don't bother. By counting your calories and eating reasonable portions to lose weight, you will normally be consuming less sodium than you were up until a week ago.2 -
I have hypertension, so I have to watch my sodium...too much will elevate my blood pressure. I'm also pretty active and drink a lot of water, so too little has a negative affect as well.1
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So I don't really even need to bother with the sodium target/goal number that's at the bottom of my food diary?1
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for many people, sodium isn't something which they have to be concerned about. if you have high blood pressure you may want to watch out for sodium heavy foods though. i have a very strong sensitivity to sodium but only in that it makes me retain a ton of water (sodium makes just about everyone maintain water to some degree, but for me, a night of sushi can be literally seen in my swollen ankles the next day). water retention can mask fat loss on the scale but isn't necessarily a cause for alarm. on the other hand, if you're low carb / keto you actually want higher levels of sodium. like with all things context and dosage matter. if you're using a preset mfp goal of 2300 and you're hitting 2500 every day with no ill effects, i wouldn't stress it. if you're at 6,000 on a regular basis, maybe take a look at where you can cut back.1
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Some health conditions such as blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease, edema and others are affected by salt. Blood pressure is a common condition and many people who have it don't even know it. Overweight people are particularly prone to developing it. If you are sure you don't have any of these conditions then you could increase your sodium limit manually or just ignore it. In some cases,like being very active or eating a low carb diet, it's preferable to increase salt intake.1
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Really just depends on how much water and how much of the other electrolytes you are consuming.
Not something you'd need to worry about unless you have a health issue or you start to feel weird and have the beginning symptoms of hypernatremia. Still shouldn't have unnecessary amounts of sodium for no real reason.0 -
Alright, thanks for all your great responses guys (and gals of course). It seems like since I don't have any health conditions, I should make sure my sodium intake isn't super excessive (just like anything else), but I definitely shouldn't stress about it being over the recommended target.3
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Just an fyi, you can also go into your diary settings and switch out sodium for something else you want to track. I track my iron instead, because I don't really care about my sodium levels that much.2
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Pharmacies around here have free blood pressure machines. You might check if you are in normal range. If you are, salt won't be a problem.1
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High sodium raises your blood pressure. If you have high bp to start with, eating lots of sodium is bad. If you have low bp, it's good. I have low bp and need to eat up to 8gr of salt per day. Quite a lot!
If your bp is normal, don't pay attention to salt.1 -
I have great blood pressure but I still watch my sodium.... I do retain water pretty significantly if I go over 3,000 in a day. So I use it as a guide and not really a limit, but it does prepare me to expect water retention on the scale.1
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Just an fyi, you can also go into your diary settings and switch out sodium for something else you want to track. I track my iron instead, because I don't really care about my sodium levels that much.
Yes, I swapped out Sugar and Sodium for Fiber and Iron, because the latter are relevant to me and the former are not.2 -
I salt my food until it quite literally *glitters*. Always have had a salt tooth. And the worst it's caused me is bloating here and there. I totally ignore the sodium warnings. If you get your blood pressure monitored and you're otherwise healthy... just be sure you're getting enough if you're working out heavily. Otherwise, ignore.1
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Sodium matters. Water retention matters. Even if your BP is ok today, don't be fooled. There are long term effects to things like too much sodium. Maybe you will get it in 10-20 years and maybe you won't. There is no way to know for certain. But why take the risk? Younger people simply have no comprehensive of how things can build up over the years to affect someone long term. Then they're shocked that it happened, like it happened overnight or something. Personally, I think it's a good idea to adopt as many healthy eating habits as possible, if you like a healthy and enjoyable life later on. There are enough things that go wrong with our bodies, there's no need to encourage it. Just sayin.1
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I try to eat a bit more potassium than sodium daily.0
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I rarely go over the 2300mg, but when i do, even by a little bit i can expect a gain the next morning. Obviously water retention, but I'm very sensitive to it.0
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Sodium matters. Water retention matters. Even if your BP is ok today, don't be fooled. There are long term effects to things like too much sodium. Maybe you will get it in 10-20 years and maybe you won't. There is no way to know for certain. But why take the risk? Younger people simply have no comprehensive of how things can build up over the years to affect someone long term. Then they're shocked that it happened, like it happened overnight or something. Personally, I think it's a good idea to adopt as many healthy eating habits as possible, if you like a healthy and enjoyable life later on. There are enough things that go wrong with our bodies, there's no need to encourage it. Just sayin.
The science linking high sodium levels to high bp is not as settled as they once thought. Also, some people are more sensitive to it than others. It is very much an individual thing, like caffeine or alcohol.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099.php1 -
I can't find the studies right now because I'm on my phone but there has been a growing amount of research indicating that for the average otherwise healthy person (aka no heart disease or high bp) the recommendation of 2300mg may actually be too low.
If you have risk factors for the above or your health professional has recommended low sodium with your personal health info in mind, then please follow that advice. But if you have no risk factors, then being slightly over is okay.
For me personally - my doctor specifically told me to increase my sodium intake slightly due to problems with low blood pressure, dizziness, and a slight electrolyte imbalance. My symptoms improved when I stopped being as stingy with salt in my own food. I adjusted my sodium goals so I don't have the MFP program fussing at me when I exceed the recommended amount daily. Yes I retain a bit of water but I will take a bit of water retention and slightly elevated scale readings over orthostatic hypertension any day.
My advice: talk to your PCP, get an accurate assessment of your health situation, possibly a dietician referral if necessary, and follow relevant health recommendations.1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I have hypertension, so I have to watch my sodium...too much will elevate my blood pressure. I'm also pretty active and drink a lot of water, so too little has a negative affect as well.
I have to watch sodium as well. It can elevate my blood pressure as well as give me REALLY bad headaches. Original V8s have so much sodium in them that if I drink one I get really sick with a horrible headache right away.0 -
Sodium matters. Water retention matters. Even if your BP is ok today, don't be fooled. There are long term effects to things like too much sodium. Maybe you will get it in 10-20 years and maybe you won't. There is no way to know for certain. But why take the risk? Younger people simply have no comprehensive of how things can build up over the years to affect someone long term. Then they're shocked that it happened, like it happened overnight or something. Personally, I think it's a good idea to adopt as many healthy eating habits as possible, if you like a healthy and enjoyable life later on. There are enough things that go wrong with our bodies, there's no need to encourage it. Just sayin.
I disagree. I do use sea salt rather than table salt...but I have been oversalting things since childhood because I cannot taste the salt in anything. And other than blood pressure....there are really no adverse health effects of salt. I've even supplemented my high salt diet with Sea Kelp supplements just to be sure I was getting enough Iodine (because of using only sea salt). Sure, if you forget to hydrate, maybe....but remembering to drink more water is not a health issue. And the actual medical effects of salt on blood pressure is now being reconsidered as totally false.
That aside...I'm 36 years old going on 37. I have a variety of *other* health problems and there's nothing more annoying and exhausting than people who assume anyone under 45 have an ignorant, youthful belief that they will never have any issues with health. Since I've been afflicted by health issues since childhood, I'm well aware. Salt intake isn't medically important unless you have a direct condition affected by it. And no. Water weight/bloating are not symptoms of anything unhealthy at all. Since I actually HAVE a hormone disorder, I'm quite familiar with water-weight. It's vanity. Nothing else. And I regularly get metabolic tests, bloodwork, etc done because of my PCOS, GI issues, and medications I take. Nothing has changed for the worse. And that was long before my 30's. If you're merely suggesting that age will make all things more difficult....well....that's obvious to anyone with common sense. But still has nothing to do with salt. It's the natural degradation of the body at older ages.1 -
There is a growing body of research suggesting that salt does not cause blood pressure any more than protein causes kidney failure, sugar causes diabetes, or fat causes gallstones. These are substances that affect certain issues but don't necessarily cause them.1
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I was researching something else recently and this lead me to the effect of sodium on the body somehow. My bit of new knowledge you might say
There's a lot of research into potassium citrate preventing osteoporosis in patients eating a high sodium diet, as a result pee more and flush out calcium, which results in loss of bone density.
Calcium is one of those minerals of which only a tiny percentage is stored in the blood, about 1% I think, half of it is bound to a protein, the other half does the thing it's needed for. The rest is stored in the bones. If the calcium blood level goes down then more calcium is delivered from the bones. Thus increased removal of calcium from the blood means removal of calcium from the bones and loss of bone density.
Apparently potassium citrate counteracts the effect of the salt, preventing excessive peeing and thus preserving bone mass. Not saying you should randomly pop supplements, especially as potassium can cause heart problems if too much is taken. But all I'm saying the effects of too much salt can be a serious problem long-term.0 -
I was researching something else recently and this lead me to the effect of sodium on the body somehow. My bit of new knowledge you might say
There's a lot of research into potassium citrate preventing osteoporosis in patients eating a high sodium diet, as a result pee more and flush out calcium, which results in loss of bone density.
Calcium is one of those minerals of which only a tiny percentage is stored in the blood, about 1% I think, half of it is bound to a protein, the other half does the thing it's needed for. The rest is stored in the bones. If the calcium blood level goes down then more calcium is delivered from the bones. Thus increased removal of calcium from the blood means removal of calcium from the bones and loss of bone density.
Apparently potassium citrate counteracts the effect of the salt, preventing excessive peeing and thus preserving bone mass. Not saying you should randomly pop supplements, especially as potassium can cause heart problems if too much is taken. But all I'm saying the effects of too much salt can be a serious problem long-term.
Interesting. I have never looked into this because I'm genetically dense-boned and don't have to worry about that (all older women in my family on both sides have denser than average bones for their age too). That may be something to look into if it's a concern.0 -
It was just a side outcome of a research I did, kind of like browsing wikipedia and ending up somewhere completely different
thus I did not look up any ciriticism on this. Makes sense for me though, the excess peeing and loss of bonemass as I have other mineral related problems that are increased by too much drinking. 0 -
Oh, this for example: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11994333
The whole article is very interesting, if you can find a fulltext. I clearnly have not come to terms with having access to the whole world of scientific literature yet otherwise I'd not ended up there
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