Question about sodium and water intake....

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JenMarie8781
JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have such a HARD time staying under my sodium goal! It's in EVERYTHING and it's so difficult for me to avoid it! But I drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. So my question is.... if you get too much sodium will it help flush it out or lessen the effects of sodium (bloating, etc.) if you drink lots of water? In other words is there any difference between eating too much sodium and not drinking much water vs. eating too much sodium and drinking a lot of water. Does the water help at all?

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  • JenMarie8781
    JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
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    Bump : )
  • jaxbeck
    jaxbeck Posts: 537 Member
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    I'm not an expert but I would think yes from what I have read
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    Water and sodium follow each other, so yes, if you're diuresing (which is what you're doing when you're flushing yourself with water) then you're losing sodium too. But that's not an excuse to dive headlong into the bag of chips. Your body is an expert at balancing its electrolytes because marginal swings can be deadly. If you've got more than you need, your body will put it in your urine like everything else.
  • JenMarie8781
    JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
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    Water and sodium follow each other, so yes, if you're diuresing (which is what you're doing when you're flushing yourself with water) then you're losing sodium too. But that's not an excuse to dive headlong into the bag of chips. Your body is an expert at balancing its electrolytes because marginal swings can be deadly. If you've got more than you need, your body will put it in your urine like everything else.

    I don't plan on doing that anyway but thanks for the reply... I think.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    eat more potassium

    exercise (you lose electrolytes when you sweat which need to be replenished)
  • JenMarie8781
    JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
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    : )
  • JenMarie8781
    JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
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    Anyone else? I swear... trying to get replies on this site is like pulling teeth. lol
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I have such a HARD time staying under my sodium goal! It's in EVERYTHING and it's so difficult for me to avoid it! But I drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. So my question is.... if you get too much sodium will it help flush it out or lessen the effects of sodium (bloating, etc.) if you drink lots of water? In other words is there any difference between eating too much sodium and not drinking much water vs. eating too much sodium and drinking a lot of water. Does the water help at all?
    Not really. It doesn't quite work that way. When you drink extra water, you essentially just pass it right through your digestive system and straight on out.
  • iambatman41
    iambatman41 Posts: 37
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    My doctor told me recently that I can have up to 4000mg of sodium if I drink plenty of water. I normally have around 2K/day but wanted to know if I go over if it was okay. I drink 8-13 glasses of water everyday, higher on workout days.:drinker:
  • katheharwood
    katheharwood Posts: 25 Member
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    I pulled this from livestrong.com:
    Sodium, an essential mineral, and water are necessary components of a healthy diet. Both elements work with your kidneys to sustain fluid balance in your cells. Sodium acts as an electrolyte, or charged ion particle, that helps transmit nerve impulses, and water binds to sodium to fill the spaces between your cells, acting as a conduit for the transmission of electrical signals. Water and sodium have a homeostatic relationship, and when excess sodium is in your body, it may mean you need to increase your water consumption.
    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/529042-does-drinking-water-flush-out-sodium-in-the-body/#ixzz1pBhBdbRq

    Hope this helps...
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Sodium by itself isn't a bad thing. If you don't have high blood pressure, and understand that water weight from sodium is temporary, then going over a bit isn't really that bad. Sodium doesn't become dangerous until you are upwards of 6000 mg per day, and even then, it depends a lot of your activity level and your potassium intake.

    Sodium and potassium are opposites in the body, sodium draws water out of cells and into the extracellular areas of the body, making it harder for the body to eliminate excess water, where as potassium shifts the electro-chemical balance the other way, if you eat a lot of natural foods high in sodium, chances are they will have lots of potassium in them as well, it's not that big of a deal.

    The problem of high sodium is essentially more pronounced when you are using added sodium to your diet, in things like sauces, dressings, condiments, and processed foods that contain little or no potassium to offset the sodium balance. Cut out those things and I'm sure you'll be fine, that is assuming you don't have high blood pressure or some other ailment that sodium is known to effect.
  • jademh
    jademh Posts: 94
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    I've always wondered this myself. I usually don't go over in sodium, I try to monitor it but there have been a few days i've done horribly. One day I didn't drink more water, so the next couple days I did feel bloated. The next few times this happened I drank 10ish cups of water and it helped with the bloating a little, it's still not an excuse though. Try not to make a habit of it :)

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