Not enough sodium?

Classicjamz · 10-03-2008, 04:16 PM

I know many people are concerned about eating too much sodium, but what about not enough? I only eat about 800-1200mgs of sodium a day. I don't go out of my way to avoid it really, just the foods that I eat have no or very little sodium. The only foods I eat with sodium are milk, bread, cereal etc. I drink about a gallon to 1.5 gallons of water a day. Just curious if i'm not eating enough sodium and need to eat more.

ROCK3RGURL79 · 10-03-2008, 05:04 PM

A person's body only requires about 1/2 to 1 tsp./day, you're probably getting the sufficient amount in your diet. What you're getting in a day is really good, too much salt is a bad thing. It causes water retention ( bloating) and for some, excess sodium can cause high blood pressure.

You should give me your diet plan as I have to watch my salt intake and have a hard time with it!

Classicjamz · 10-03-2008, 06:13 PM

Sure i'll give you my diet. The foods I eat are:

Oats
1% milk
Unsalted almonds
Unsalted natural peanut butter
Whole wheat bread
No salt added cottage cheese
lentils
Eggs
Brown rice
veggies/fruit
Kashi cereal
Chicken/steak

**Emma-Leigh** · 10-04-2008, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Classicjamz

I know many people are concerned about eating too much sodium, but what about not enough? I only eat about 800-1200mgs of sodium a day. I don't go out of my way to avoid it really, just the foods that I eat have no or very little sodium. The only foods I eat with sodium are milk, bread, cereal etc. I drink about a gallon to 1.5 gallons of water a day. Just curious if i'm not eating enough sodium and need to eat more.

To many people are too concerned about this issue... and to quote a conversation I had recently in another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyprincess

Question: i thought a lot of sodium in your diet will screw up your progress, is this true? if yes then how come some of the recipes in here have a lot of spices? Please correct me if im wrong=)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

No it doesn't screw your progress (bb myth). In fact, it can sometimes actually IMPROVE progress (it helps maintain blood pressure and energy when in calorie deficit)... This is especially the case if you are sweating a lot or doing a lot of cardio (you waste/ lose salt).

The main concern people have is 'bloating' - but it doesn't cause bloating/ fluid retention - but it is actually swings in sodium that cause bloating issues. So if you have a higher sodium intake regularly, it doesn't matter...

So unless you have a medical condition where it is contraindicated (eg: heart disease or kidney disease) then there is no reason why you have to exclude it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megin

Nice answer, Ems!
I actually never thought of it that way. But that leads to a follow up question (sorry for the hijack

) why is adding table salt so frowned upon, then?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

No hijack.. so don't stress...

For the general public? The reason why it is bad is because:
1. people eat crap food which is overly salted already (eg: packed foods) - so they already likely get 2 x the recommended intake
2. everyone is overweight, lazy, has high blood pressure, and is on the way to diabetic kidney disease...!!!

So in these cases it is a good thing that salt is not added to meals... They are getting enough anyway... They don't need to increase their blood pressure any further... They don't sweat ANYTHING out (unless they eat a hot fatty curry from the take away store

).... And their kidneys are already damaged, distressed, and working overtime...!!

So as you can see - for the 'fit healthy young community' that are eating well the 'don't add salt' health issue is not really an issue they need to be worried about...!!! Also - the reason why people cling to the principle in this community is not actually for the health reasons above, but the 'aesthetic' reasons ('it makes you fat' or 'it stalls process' or 'it will make you bloat' thing as discussed above)... And so, just as with the 'fruit' myth and the 'dairy' myth and the 'carbs at night' myth... the salt myth it another one of those 'cause the cut person at the gym told me so....' things that gets passed down in the bb'ing generations.

[just note - people who cut out salt are also at risk of iodine deficiency. Table salt is usually iodised and it is one of the only sources for most people... so if anyone reading this DOESN'T have table salt/ include iodised salt substitutes - then you might want to make sure you are getting iodine from something else in your diet to make up the deficiency]

Classicjamz · 10-04-2008, 05:59 AM

Thanks for posting that conversation. My next question was going to be about deficiancies but you already answered it.

Lisetta · 10-08-2008, 03:05 AM

Bodybuilders may actually need a little more sodium in their diet than the average person. Its function is to transmit impluses in the nerves for muscular contraction during weight trainging sessions. Just don't go overboard!