Sodium?

I watch mine for many reasons, mainly because I have high blood pressure and retain water easily on days I eat too much.

I watch it due to doctor's orders. I'm supposed to be on the DASH diet for hypertension. I try to keep it at/under 2300mg a day and drink a lot of water (at least 80 oz) and keep potassium up (supposed to cancel out sodium or some such).

I usually try to stick to 1500 or below. It's mainly for health reasons . My body has trouble regulating water and can cause me to go into congestive heart failure =\. I don't make it under that everyday, but I'll keep trying lol

I don't stress over it at all. My blood pressure is great and it doesn't cause me to retain water, so it doesn't bother me. Most people do watch theirs, which is great. My doctor was saying that because people are SO afraid to add any salt to anything, there is an increasing number of people with iodine deficiencies, which causes problems with the thyroid. I thought that was interesting. Obviously people that watch it for Heath issues like hypertension should absolutely do so. I just get annoyed at people who claim you cannot lose... Or will in fact gain fat from eating too much sodium.

I'm on 1500 but for healthy young folks 2,500 is considered safe and sane. Mostly to control water retention and aid your kidneys in cleaning out toxins from your system. Potassium, calcium and sodium are essential to cellular process and maintaining cellular pressure. And we can actually get by on as low as 500 mg a day easily. 2,500 is a max not a min. But that said, lots of water and good potassium rich foods can usually compensate for too much salt.

Discussed the iodine deficiency question with my doctor, and she said it is very unlikely that you would get an iodine deficiency if you are eating a balanced diet and having fish once in awhile.

I retain fluid (up to 10 pounds worth) and high blood pressure, not to mention feeling bloated are the results. By watching my sodium intake and keeping it below 1500mg daily, it keeps the excess fluid off of me and keeps my blood pressure at a safe level. Not everyone has this problem however, there are people that can eat over their generous sodium intake amounts with no effects whatsoever. I found when I had to make this dietary modification, it forced me to eat much healthier, and to plan ahead meals and snacks. Most processed and fast foods have tons of sodium and I have had to decrease the amount in my diet.

Here's a good link for an informative explanation

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/429361-why-does-sodium-increase-blood-pressure/#ixzz21OzXrRwE

I keep an eye on it, but for the opposite reason as most people. If my sodium is under 2300mg for more than a day or two, I start having low blood pressure issues, so I try and keep it around 2600 most days.