rugged1529 wrote: »

Soooo...does it matter what source the sodium/salt comes from?

Answered where you asked on the other thread. I say no, others say yes. Table salt is my go to.

My husband has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia, and the cardiologist told him to drink a lot of gaterade, for the sodium content. It's to keep his BP up when he stands. He does also have high bp, and is on meds. So it makes me wonder if the one is cancelling out the other. For years they kept talking about salt being bad for you, now they are changing. Not so much in the mainstream of doctors but those who don't follow the pack.

From the salt institute:
Salt has many health benefits.

The other component of salt, chloride, is also essential to survival and good health. It preserves acid-base balance in the body, aids potassium absorption, improves the ability of the blood to move harmful carbon dioxide from tissues out to the lungs and, most importantly, it supplies the crucial stomach acids required to break down and digest all the foods we eat.

Because the level of salt consumption is so stable, it is an ideal medium to use for fortifying other essential nutrients such as iodine. Iodized salt first produced in the U.S. in 1924 is now used by 75 percent of the world’s population to protect against mental retardation due to Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). Iodine is an essential element in healthy human life, enabling the function of thyroid glands to produce needed hormones for proper metabolism. When children in the womb don’t get enough iodine from their mother, fetal brain development may be impaired. During pregnancy, iodine deficiency can cause a child to develop learning disabilities and mental retardation as well as developmental problems affecting his speech, hearing and growth.

Salt is also a vital component of hydration. After exercise, it is critical to replace both water and salt lost through perspiration during exercise. That is why all athletes make sure they are consuming sufficient salt during and after a workout. Expectant mothers and seniors, in particular, need to guard against under-consumption of salt. Higher-salt diets have also been used successfully to combat chronic fatigue syndrome. Asthma sufferers, particularly in Eastern Europe, are often treated by having the person spend time in salt mines or salt caves. This is because the unique microclimate, containing ultrafine salt particles helps clear the lungs.

I know I have to use the lite salt during times where I cramp during Atkins. Just a 1/2 teaspoon and some water and the cramps stop within a minute or two. I know when I get a bad toe cramp at night, the scale will show weight loss the next day.

I've been medicated for high bp for over a decade. I've changed meds or dose 4 times during this period. My bp is mostly stable although a little on the high side. My GP is pretty happy to let my bp do it's own thing so long as I don't see consistent readings above 135/90.

In my first flirtation with a low carb diet, I pretty much eliminated all carbs except for non-root vegetables, dairy and a very occasional beer. To make up the calorie deficit I added oil to virtually every meal. To make the oil palatable I added salt. These changes were aimed at improving my performance in endurance events that extended beyond two hours, but I experienced two unintended side effects.

My weight started to drop noticeably despite consuming pretty much the same total calories and maintaining a constant training volume.

My bp also dropped. I started getting readings like 110/68. My first reaction was to halve the dose of my bp medication until I got back to my GP. I also cut back on oil and salt and increased my carbs (for reasons that were not related to my bp). My bp became highly variable then settled slightly lower than where it had been before the dietary changes with me returning to the higher dose.

Edit: Missed dairy.

@wabmester I was looking for a link I thought you had posted in this thread that showed a bell curve about sodium intake where it basically showed a higher sodium intake was more associated with better health.
Do you know which one I’m talking about?

Thanks @nvmomketo that’s what I was looking for.

I had someone lecturing about sodium and they repeatedly felt the need to tell me how they are a scientist over and over again. Turns out... they do research at a veterinary college... kept insisting the RDI wasn’t sodium restriction and that “too much” sodium went “straight to the brain”... whatever that means