Lets talk Sodium

I went to my doctor a week ago because of swelling (really bad swelling) in my ankles. I had been counting sodium so I knew that wasn't the issue. But what I did find out is that 2000 mg is the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt. My food diary had me set at 2500 mg. I went back and changed it to 2000 mg. I never add salt to my food and I usually always come out under my goal of 2000. I know you have to have a certain amount of sodium to keep your electrolytes up but I don't know how much you have to have to prevent the loss of the electrolytes. Maybe someone else on here would know.

Took a quick peek at your diary. It's all the processed, packed foods you are eating. Try to reduce that. Stop adding table salt to your home cooked foods and rely on the food's natural sodium.

You're also eating a lot of processed carbs and cheese. Those are also culprits.

Drink a lot of water to flush out the water and get in some good, sweaty workouts.

it is almost impossible to get less than your goal of sodium if you eat processed foods! I was horrified to find that nearly all the fat-free salad dressings have 400-600 mg of sodium per serving! and I looked at a steak marinade last night that had 1200 mg for 2 tsp!! fortunately I don't have a health/sodium issue, just don't like retaining water so I drink a lot of it to keep it balanced, always at least 8 glasses a day, usually more.

I looked online and it said the sodium intake we should have per day is 2300 mg. They say most people eat over 3500 mg. a day. I tried reducing my sodium intake as well. I'm trying to stay balanced with what MyFItnessPal says to do. There are foods and snacks with low sodium in the grocery stores like jello. I plan my breakfast and lunch carefully so I can eat a little more at dinner time so for lunch I bought HealthyChoice frozen food dinners. They have around 330 calories and around 500 mg. sodium. That's not bad considering it's around 1/3 of the sodium intake for the day. To be honest it was my first time trying Healthy Choice and surprisingly the one I got was very delicious. You just need to find the stuff that works for you. Also for breakfast I just bought Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats (NO SODIUM) and Borden 2% Milk. That might be a good choice to lower your sodium intake. Hope this helps.

also worring about every single nutrient (potasium in banana's) will make you banana's. Eat natural foods as much as you can and move more than you have been doing and forget the minuta.

The average banana has 8 to 10% of the RDA for potassium. Around 400-500mg depending on size. That is a lot of bananas.

Lack of sodium and potassium can cause dizziness and headaches if left for a long time.

Sodium also comes out in sweat.

I also just started worrying about sodium and potassium. I don't eat a lot of processed food and I think that helps a lot. I need to work on my potassium though. I don't like bananas at all. I am glad you posted this about sodium. Glad I am not the only one.

There are several companies that make a salt substitute that consists largely of potassium. It tastes a lot like yummy delicious salt (and it does have some sodium) but it's got lots of potassium in it. If you currently use table salt, consider getting some of this and putting it at the table instead - you'll drop your sodium intake and increase your potassium.

However, the best way is to find high-potassium foods you do like and add them to your diet. Apricots, dates, prunes, raisins (all of which are high in sugar, though it's a healthier sugar), potato, pumpkin, beets, brussels sprouts, avocado, tomato (including V-8 juice), yogurt, some nuts, legumes (beans/peas) - are all excellent sources of potassium.