Sodium-Help me understand

Too much causes your body to retain water, but it's necessary for your body to function, so you can't cut it out all together. If you end up getting too much in your diet, just drink a lot of water to flush it out.

Sodium tends to get a bad rep. Yes, it can cause water-retention. However, it is a vital nutrient in our body's functioning. Most of the studies done on sodium haven't told the whole story. While sodium intake is important to monitor, the majority of issues that have been placed on sodium have arisen from modern "civilized" diets that are deficient in potassium.

Most of the sodium issues tend to disappear when people eat more natural diets, those that are not filled with processed foods. The studies I have read say that the average ok sodium intake is around 2500mg (not that silly 1500mg from the heart assn, which data conflicts with being a proper amount for the bulk population). But, eating more natural foods will naturally raise your potassium intake. Most diets tend to be very potassium deficient and we need about 4000mg of potassium in our diets.

So, yes, pay attention to sodium, but don't forget potassium, either.

Thanks guys, that was very helpful.

Do I need to increase it, since I started logging last Monday I noticed that one day I had 73mg and most days I'm lucky to get 1000mg? I know 73mg will be TOO low but what about 1000mg?

What will happen if I continue to consume too little?

Too little sodium can interfere with muscle function READ: cardiac issues.

I don't track sodium. I think if you avoid unprocessed food (fast food, packaged food, canned food) you are doing well. Unless your dr. is worried about sodium, I don't think you should be.

I'm tracking it to make sure I get enough. I feel better with a good amount and my blood pressure is usually low, plus I get enough potassium. I think it helps my thyroid too. No problems there, but since I've joined MFP I've seen so many with thyroid problems..I'm proactive!

One of the side effects of too little sodium is sluggishness or feeling tired. If you're not feeling tired and everything is operating normally, I wouldn't worry about how much sodium you get. If you're not feeling energized, you might try upping your sodium intake.

One major thing sodium does is help cool the body through sweat, so if you're not sweating enough, you can overheat. Again, if that's not an issue for you, I wouldn't worry too much about your sodium intake.

Talk to your doctor if you find yourself consistenly under 1000 and see what he/she says.

The Cleveland Cardiac Clinic recommends people with high blood pressure keep it under 2000 and people with extremely high blood pressure are sometimes asked to keep it under 1500.

1000 is really low IMHO. I have slightly high blood pressure, and my doctor cleared me for up to 2500mg per day, and said if I go over 2500 occasionally it's not a huge deal.

I get migraine with sodium spikes. If I usually get 400-600 mg and I have a day where I eat out and get 2500-3000mg I'm getting a migraine. I'm tracking so I can try to even it out. A few dashes (about 4) with my food in a regular day brings me up to about 1000 so the spike isn't so dramatic. No migraine. My regular day is still low but so is my water intake. I'm working on both.

Thanks everyone. I think I may have found the reason behind my sleeping problems.

Is there any links between sodium/potassium and headaches/migraines?

I'm seeing that both my levels are quite low and guessing they have been for quite a while going on what I eat, think I will speak to my doctor next week.

Sodium and potassium are vital to proper nerve function. Not to get too sciency on you, but that's how nerves send signals within themselves and what neurotransmitters cause to flow in/out of the cell. Also, sodium is used in water balance. Of course we've already addressed in this thread that sodium is also related to blood pressure regulation.

Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if someone said that improper Na/K levels were related to migraine/headache. When things are off in our bodies, our bodies tell us so.

I'm just a geneticist/molecular biologist, not a physician. If you are having physical issues, please consult your physician or a local clinician. Given the things you've said on here, if we switched seats, I would be talking to my doctor to make sure I was within the levels I should be.

Thanks.

I see a doctor monthly to monitor them and I've seen a couple of neurologists but no one has ever mentioned Sodium to me. If I can find the cause of my headaches I would be sooooooo happy, been going on for years and effects everything. I can't even get a job because they are that bad.

I see my doc on Tuesday so I will definitely be mentioning it.

I can definitely understand the migraine thing. I had been getting them about 3 days per week. It was awful I couldn't concentrate. Ugh.

I just did a little search, and I feel so stupid for not remembering this! The guy who's lab was next door to me for 3 years of my career studies sodium channels in epilepsy and migraine. Anyway, here's a paper from his lab connecting sodium and migraine.
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/28/9799.full.pdf+html

And for a less science article, which is how I had found his paper...
http://www.livestrong.com/article/277354-sodium-deficiency-migraines/

I hope that helps and it might be something to mention to your doc on Tuesday.