Sodium make you fat???

Everyone is an "expert" here, and they scare us into thinking sodium and carbs are the enemy! Go over sodium even by a few mg, and mfp friends attack you like you just commited a crime! It's ridiculous.

I was going WAY over my sodium intake per day, when I first started MFP, and now I have lowered it to below 1,500mg of sodium a day and the weight has been coming off more!!!!

I believe sodium has something to do with weight loss. I'm sure others on here will disagree.

AMEN!!!! Thank you for posting that!!!

Everyone is an "expert" here, and they scare us into thinking sodium and carbs are the enemy! Go over sodium even by a few mg, and mfp friends attack you like you just commited a crime! It's ridiculous.

I totally agree with you!!! One more reason I keep my diary private! I don't want to hear from all the self proclaimed "experts"

I just saw on doctor oz a few days ago that eating a lot of sodium really is that bad for you as long as you exercise and you drink Plenty of water to flush it out. Sodium won't make you fat it will just make you retain water weight which is not fat and if you're not drinking a lot of water or you're not exercising regularly n you have high blood pressure already ir can play a role in keeping your blood pressure high. Otherwise I try to keep my diary private because I get so sick of people commenting on my sodium intake when my blood pressure is just fine. Congradulations all your hard work

I stopped paying attention to my sodium and the only thing that changed was the extra stuff I got to eat and a drastic reduction in sodium related anxiety.



(people will say anxiety makes you fat too.)

I just discovered the reports function. I was over 4000 mg on sodium 12 of the last 30 days....

I don't believe sodium or saturated fat really affects weight loss, other than the occasional water retention due to too much sodium. The problems with these are more health related I think. Sodium can raise BP and saturated fat can raise cholesterol. These things are not true for all people though. Sounds like you are one of the lucky people that have a problem with neither.

I am not an expert, however, I am a Critical Care Dialysis RN at the U of M Medical Center & Amplatz Children's Hospital. Every day I work I witness the LONG TERM effects of high sodium on the body. High sodium is dangerous. It may not impact you initially, however, over time it is a death sentence. I found a couple links I've cut and pasted below to try explain the dangers of Na. Sodium does not make you fat, it makes you retain fluid which reflects on the scale as weight gain, but that is actually just water weight. High sodium causes high blood pressure, wears out your kidneys, can mess up your acid/base balance in your body, just to name a few...

Sodium and weight Loss

Excess sodium intake can increase the mass of white fat cells.
Excess sodium intake promotes hypertension.
Height salt intake is associated to metabolic syndrome.

Excess sodium intake plays a key role in weight gain, obesity and your success maintaining weight loss.

Sodium intake and balance acts as a critical control point not only for the systems your body has to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance, but also fat mass. For people interested in weight loss, cutting excess sodium is critical.

New research shows that excess sodium intake promotes excess white fat mass. The higher your salt intake, the fatter you look because the fat cells themselves enlarged. High sodium intake seems to cause fat cells to store more glucose in the cell, making those cells larger.

What has not been studied is the effect of high sodium intake in combination with rich food. Rich food has been shown to deregulate the bodies mechanisms for weight control. Rich food in combination with high sodium intake may promote a metabolic environment of binge eating and rapid weight gain.

High sodium intake is also associated with hypertension, and hypertension is also associated closely with obesity. People who are already overweight, risk developing hypertension if they sustain a high salt intake.

Metabolic syndrome is the term for a pattern of sustained weight gain. Metabolic syndrome is also a precursor to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

http://www.lookcut.com/articles/sodium-and-weight-loss.html

8 Health Dangers of a High Sodium Diet
March 22, 2010 http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-health-dangers-of-a-high-sodium-diet/

1. High Blood Pressure: High dietary intake of sodium is the No. 1 cause of hypertension.

2. Ventricular Hypertrophy and Heart Failure: Abnormal heart development is the other reason why high salt intake can be detrimental to your heart

3. Osteoporosis and Poor Bone Development: Sodium inhibits your body’s absorption and utilization of calcium

4. Kidney Stones and Renal Failure: Excess calcium and sodium that are not used by your body will concentrate in your urine, increasing the filtration load of your kidneys.

5. Dehydration and Edema: Excessive salt intake can cause fluid to leak out of your cells and blood vessels and become trapped in your tissues.

6. Breathing Difficulties: Too much sodium can cause fluid buildup in your lungs, leading to shortness of breath and labored breathing

7. Duodenal and Gastric Ulcers and Cancers: Sodium regulates the acid-base balance of blood and body fluids. You can develop heart burns and esophageal acid reflux syndromes through eating salty foods

8. Electrolyte and Hormonal Imbalance: Excessive salt intake impacts both your electrolyte balance and your hormones. It can severely hinder the conduction of nerve impulses and induce symptoms like dizziness, muscle cramps and shakiness. You can also have impaired sensory response and feel disoriented and nauseous. Studies have shown that a high salt diet can often lead to higher stress levels and overeating, making you much more susceptible to depression, anxiety and obesity.

I am not an expert, however, I am a Critical Care Dialysis RN at the U of M Medical Center & Amplatz Children's Hospital. When I work I am a witness to the effects of high sodium on the body over time. High sodium is dangerous. It may not impact you initially, however, over time it is a death sentence. I found a couple links I've cut and pasted below to try explain the dangers of Na. Sodium does not make you fat, it makes you retain fluid, causes high blood pressure, wears out your kidneys, and can mess up your acid/base balance in your body, just to name a few...

Sodium and weight Loss

Excess sodium intake can increase the mass of white fat cells.
Excess sodium intake promotes hypertension.
Height salt intake is associated to metabolic syndrome.

Excess sodium intake plays a key role in weight gain, obesity and your success maintaining weight loss.

Sodium intake and balance acts as a critical control point not only for the systems your body has to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance, but also fat mass. For people interested in weight loss, cutting excess sodium is critical.

New research shows that excess sodium intake promotes excess white fat mass. The higher your salt intake, the fatter you look because the fat cells themselves enlarged. High sodium intake seems to cause fat cells to store more glucose in the cell, making those cells larger.

What has not been studied is the effect of high sodium intake in combination with rich food. Rich food has been shown to deregulate the bodies mechanisms for weight control. Rich food in combination with high sodium intake may promote a metabolic environment of binge eating and rapid weight gain.

High sodium intake is also associated with hypertension, and hypertension is also associated closely with obesity. People who are already overweight, risk developing hypertension if they sustain a high salt intake.

Metabolic syndrome is the term for a pattern of sustained weight gain. Metabolic syndrome is also a precursor to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

http://www.lookcut.com/articles/sodium-and-weight-loss.html

8 Health Dangers of a High Sodium Diet
March 22, 2010 http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-health-dangers-of-a-high-sodium-diet/

1. High Blood Pressure: High dietary intake of sodium is the No. 1 cause of hypertension.

2. Ventricular Hypertrophy and Heart Failure: Abnormal heart development is the other reason why high salt intake can be detrimental to your heart

3. Osteoporosis and Poor Bone Development: Sodium inhibits your body’s absorption and utilization of calcium

4. Kidney Stones and Renal Failure: Excess calcium and sodium that are not used by your body will concentrate in your urine, increasing the filtration load of your kidneys.

5. Dehydration and Edema: Excessive salt intake can cause fluid to leak out of your cells and blood vessels and become trapped in your tissues.

6. Breathing Difficulties: Too much sodium can cause fluid buildup in your lungs, leading to shortness of breath and labored breathing

7. Duodenal and Gastric Ulcers and Cancers: Sodium regulates the acid-base balance of blood and body fluids. You can develop heart burns and esophageal acid reflux syndromes through eating salty foods

8. Electrolyte and Hormonal Imbalance: Excessive salt intake impacts both your electrolyte balance and your hormones. It can severely hinder the conduction of nerve impulses and induce symptoms like dizziness, muscle cramps and shakiness. You can also have impaired sensory response and feel disoriented and nauseous. Studies have shown that a high salt diet can often lead to higher stress levels and overeating, making you much more susceptible to depression, anxiety and obesity.

I don't believe sodium or saturated fat really affects weight loss, other than the occasional water retention due to too much sodium. The problems with these are more health related I think. Sodium can raise BP and saturated fat can raise cholesterol. These things are not true for all people though. Sounds like you are one of the lucky people that have a problem with neither.

So it doesn't matter that we've been telling you that dietary cholesterol has very minimal impact on your blood serum cholesterol. Now we have Russell who shows you it doesn't by the numbers, and now he's just "one of the lucky ones".

What will it take Bcatts?

BTW... Awesome work!!! Your results are amazing and your transformation is an inspiration!! Thanks for sharing your story. Just be careful w/your sodium intake ha!

So my question is why do we freak out over sodium and saturated fats as it pertains to fat-loss?

I just taught a lecture on aging and kidneys.

Sodium makes you retain water. It has nothing to do with fat. In the average young adult, sodium is no big deal. As you age, however, your kidneys become less effective at filtering your blood and getting rid of that excess sodium. This causes water retention, edema (you've seen elderly individuals with swollen feet and hands), and high blood pressure.

Saturated fats are linked to heart disease and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which is why most suggest you avoid it. However, in recent years, some scientists have been challenging this theory, and the issue is no longer as clear-cut as it once was.

Saturated fats do not cause weight gain either though (nor weight loss). Weight gain is caused by consuming more calories than your body uses.

I apologize for the multiple replies???? I only clicked post reply once, I swear!

Wow.....what a transformation you have made, nice job!

I am guilty of freaking out about sodium. I think it's because everyone thinks it makes you retain fluid, but then I have heard if you drink enough water it counter reacts the sodium.

You look marevlous! Keep up the great work!

I can eat all the sodium I want and it never affects my BP or water retentiion. But when my husband eats a high sodium meal his BP shoots right up. Luckily I don't like to use much salt so it's not a problem keeping our meals low sodium for him.