High sodium
angmcg65
Posts: 1 Member
I'm shocked at how fast I accumulate my sodium intake. I am gluten free, no chicken or pork and try very low sugar, how can I regulate my sodium but still try to balance my meals and snacks?
3
Replies
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Are you logging food and tracking macros here? From the main nutrient page in your diary, tap on salt. It shows all the food you logged and the salt content. It’s easy to see what the culprit is...1
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Do you eat a lot of processed foods? Usually, if I’m eating non-processed/prepackaged food sodium levels aren’t an issue.3
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Try cooking from scratch more. Then you’ll be in control of the sodium.3
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The first basic rule is "No bags, no boxes, no cans".1
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What are you defining as high sodium? And do you have a medical reason to care?0
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Low sodium can kill you. high sodium can make you retain water. Retaining water is a problem for persons with heart failure. Ask your doctor.0
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Just passing through to commiserate - me too!0
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wilson10102018 wrote: »Low sodium can kill you. high sodium can make you retain water. Retaining water is a problem for persons with heart failure. Ask your doctor.
You left this out:
High sodium can kill you. It increases your blood pressure and your risk of stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease, kidney stones, an enlarged heart muscle, and arteriosclerosis.
There. Fixed it for you.
As with just about every micronutrient, moderation is key.4 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »wilson10102018 wrote: »Low sodium can kill you. high sodium can make you retain water. Retaining water is a problem for persons with heart failure. Ask your doctor.
You left this out:
High sodium can kill you. It increases your blood pressure and your risk of stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease, kidney stones, an enlarged heart muscle, and arteriosclerosis.
There. Fixed it for you.
As with just about every micronutrient, moderation is key.
You left this out:
High sodium can kill you if you intentionally take a lethal dose of it which is more than any person would possibly consume without suicide on their mind. And, if you have had a cardiac event and are retaining water, high sodium can result in increased likelihood of recurrence.
There, I fixed it for you.1 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »wilson10102018 wrote: »Low sodium can kill you. high sodium can make you retain water. Retaining water is a problem for persons with heart failure. Ask your doctor.
You left this out:
High sodium can kill you. It increases your blood pressure and your risk of stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease, kidney stones, an enlarged heart muscle, and arteriosclerosis.
There. Fixed it for you.
As with just about every micronutrient, moderation is key.
Where do you get that information? Sodium is a vital nutrient as its an electrolyte. Where is becomes an issue is when its associated with obesity, inactivity, and poor diets.3 -
Where do you get that information? Sodium is a vital nutrient as its an electrolyte. Where is becomes an issue is when its associated with obesity, inactivity, and poor diets.
Let's start with the National Academies and American Heart Association.
"The updated sodium AIs (Adequate Intakes) are 110 mg daily for infants 0-6 months; 370 mg daily for infants 7-12 months; 800 mg daily for children ages 1-3; 1,000 mg daily for ages 4-8; 1,200 mg daily for ages 9-13; and 1,500 mg daily for ages 14 and older. There remains limited evidence on sodium intakes below 1,500 mg per day for adults, which prevented the committee that conducted the study from considering further reductions in the sodium AI."
The estimated average daily intake for American adults is north of 3,000 mg/day.2 -
I'm shocked at how fast I accumulate my sodium intake. I am gluten free, no chicken or pork and try very low sugar, how can I regulate my sodium but still try to balance my meals and snacks?
What do you consider to be high sodium? The primary culprit for high amounts of sodium in one's diet are processed and ultra processed foods. Chicken, pork and low sugar don't really have anything to do with sodium. There is some amounts of natural occurring sodium in meat and whatnot, but it's not anything I would consider "high". Restaurant food and processed and ultra processed foods are the primary driver of high sodium.2 -
YellowD0gs wrote: »Where do you get that information? Sodium is a vital nutrient as its an electrolyte. Where is becomes an issue is when its associated with obesity, inactivity, and poor diets.
Let's start with the National Academies and American Heart Association.
"The updated sodium AIs (Adequate Intakes) are 110 mg daily for infants 0-6 months; 370 mg daily for infants 7-12 months; 800 mg daily for children ages 1-3; 1,000 mg daily for ages 4-8; 1,200 mg daily for ages 9-13; and 1,500 mg daily for ages 14 and older. There remains limited evidence on sodium intakes below 1,500 mg per day for adults, which prevented the committee that conducted the study from considering further reductions in the sodium AI."
The estimated average daily intake for American adults is north of 3,000mg/day.
The average American is overweight to obese, inactive and eats a ton of highly processed food, which typically is void of critical elements like potassium and magnesium. Reducing sodium, is a recommendation to help reduced highly processed foods. There is also subsequently recommendations to increase things like potassium and magnesium.
This is very similar to when there was concerns over red meat. The initial evidence suggested that red meat increase colorectal cancer and wasn't good for your health. When they actually examined and analyzed the differences between processed and unprocessed meats, that risk was not there.
Here is an excerpt from the evidence:
Research into cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diet has been among the priority areas for decades, yet numerous knowledge gaps persist. Additional research is essential to inform the next review of how sodium and potassium dietary intakes affect health across the DRI life stages. High-quality evidence to guide dietary recommendations to support the health of the youngest children, oldest adults, and pregnant and lactating women in the United States and Canada is also sparse.
Understanding the food and beverage sources of dietary sodium and potassium was not examined in detail, nor were the complex interactions of nonprocessed and processed food availability, cultural and personal taste
preference, and behavioral components of food choice. However, some common misconceptions came to light. Most of the salt in our modern diet pattern comes from commercially prepared food and beverage components and products, not from salt added by consumers cooking at home or from salt added by the consumer at the time of consumption. When considering sodium sources for the population over 2 years of age, most common sodium sources are breads, pizza, and cured meats and poultry. For children specifically, cheese is the top food category source of sodium, followed by cured meats and poultry, and then mixed dishes including pizza. For the desired public health benefit of reduced sodium intake to be achieved, more attention must be paid by industry to reducing sodium in the food supply and by consumers who have the needed sodium content information and an understanding of how to make health-inspired food choices. Dietary potassium intake is related to specific vegetable or fruit intakes—and then remember that as a population, our vegetable and fruit intake rarely meets the recommended servings per day. When you consider all ages, higher dietary sources of potassium are from milk, white potatoes, and fruit. Coffee is the top source of potassium in people in the 51 years of age and older group in the United States.
https://www.nap.edu/read/25353/chapter/1#xi2 -
The data on BMI is far more complicated than "the average American is obese." The US, unlike most comparable civilized nations, has three major races, each of which has entirely separate weight, diet and exercise profiles. There is no "average American" to which this saying applies.
And, it is not fair to blame this obesity on voluntary irresponsible eating of highly processed foods. There are cultural norms that cannot be overcome that raise these statistics. And, having said that, one could not distinguish an "average American" with a BMI of 28 from an "average" Frenchman or a Dane with a BMI of 25 without scientific equipment.
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Sodium is not an enemy. I really think the study that came to that conclusion was misinterpreted.
One group ate what ever they wanted, and the other was told to cut salt intake. So they started making food at home. They stopped eating out at restaurants, eating processed foods and consuming fast food. The second group appeared to be much better off than the first cardiovascular wise. Conclusion was that salt is bad.
Nothing said about cutting out bad foods (fast food, processed food or restaurants) or the increase of healthier home cook meals.
I consume sodium in moderation, about 2000-2500 mg, and try to keep my potassium intake at the same level.
And I barely add salts to food, so my sodium intake is from the foods themselves. Bacon is a big culprit.0 -
I'm shocked at how fast I accumulate my sodium intake. I am gluten free, no chicken or pork and try very low sugar, how can I regulate my sodium but still try to balance my meals and snacks?
Worth mentioning also that many of the foods in the database do not show correct sodium values, when you check nutritional content on the food packaging it sometimes is different to that stated on MFP. I always go with the packaging values and update if for example the whole salt content has been incorrectly stated as sodium. You may not be consuming as much sodium as you think...hope this helps.
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Hello all,
I am concerned about my sodium intake as well. Being new here, I have been tracking my diet and exercise for 2 weeks now. Sodium is averaging nearly 4,000 mg a day. Culprits are frozen foods and canned foods. I am having trouble finding low sodium or no sodium foods that I can pack for my 12 hr days at work. I have been thoroughly shocked by the sodium levels in foods. I have watched calories pretty much forever, but not the minute detail such as sodium and sugars. Sugars were easier to get under control, I totally cut out my 2 cans of Coke and 2 glasses of sweet tea. 100% water now. I do enjoy logging my foods and looking at the data.0 -
Your nerves require so much sodium and potassium to fire right. These are your important electrolytes. Keeping your electrolytes balanced is the key, not low VS high sodium debate. If you work out and sweat you will require more sodium which is best consumed as iodized SALT. It is important to understand that building muscle depends on your nerves firing right and it is of the essence that you keep your electrolytes balanced. Just like the protein, fat, and carb balance, sodium also must be balanced with potassium. Low sodium VS high sodium is as futile as discussing low-fat VS high fat. It is the kind of sodium and the kind of fat and also about balance. If the high sodium is sodium nitrate that will differ from sodium chloride. Think eggs salted with sodium chloride (table salt) and let's say it has 200 mg of sodium now compare that to bacon that has the same 200 mg sodium but that sodium is mostly sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, a recipe for cancer and nerve malfunction. I have found high sodium chloride is a necessity for those that workout hard and sweat. When you sweat you are not retaining the water. Having your electrolytes tested yearly is important.0
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Hello all,
I am concerned about my sodium intake as well. Being new here, I have been tracking my diet and exercise for 2 weeks now. Sodium is averaging nearly 4,000 mg a day. Culprits are frozen foods and canned foods. I am having trouble finding low sodium or no sodium foods that I can pack for my 12 hr days at work. I have been thoroughly shocked by the sodium levels in foods. I have watched calories pretty much forever, but not the minute detail such as sodium and sugars. Sugars were easier to get under control, I totally cut out my 2 cans of Coke and 2 glasses of sweet tea. 100% water now. I do enjoy logging my foods and looking at the data.
Unless you have some medical condition, then don't over stress about it. That is about what i have an my BP is 100/60. I am active and require more sodium then a sedentary person.1 -
Hello all,
I am concerned about my sodium intake as well. Being new here, I have been tracking my diet and exercise for 2 weeks now. Sodium is averaging nearly 4,000 mg a day. Culprits are frozen foods and canned foods. I am having trouble finding low sodium or no sodium foods that I can pack for my 12 hr days at work. I have been thoroughly shocked by the sodium levels in foods. I have watched calories pretty much forever, but not the minute detail such as sodium and sugars. Sugars were easier to get under control, I totally cut out my 2 cans of Coke and 2 glasses of sweet tea. 100% water now. I do enjoy logging my foods and looking at the data.
Cooking from scratch can help control both sodium and sugar content found commonly in processed foods. Learning to use other spices and herbs for flavor. By preparing your own food, you can control the amounts of sodium and sugar. Rinsing canned vegetables also can eliminate sodium a bit.0
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