Is a diet high in sodium bad for building muscle?

[Jhay]

Is eating alot of sodium bad for BBing?

[Liquid]

no (except if close to a contest)

[Locarius]

Keep it in check with Potassium. Eat those bananas.

[RipStone]

If you are eating a good diet with veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc and avoiding processed food(which is full of sodium) then you shouldnt be consuming too much sodium. Chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, etc do have sodium but you need some sodium since you are exercicing and sweating. Just dont add salt to your food and you should have nothing to worry about.

[dexterium]

I was told to have a minimum of 3 grams per day. Sodium helps to open up the blood flow which is extremely important for the body builder as they wish to have all their nutrients flowing fast to their muscles and other parts of their body.

[SprtNvolcoM00]

Be careful ... high sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure.

PS: Last I heard, 3000 mg of sodium is 2x to 3x the RDA (recommended daily allowance). Of course, the RDA is just an average.

[ratmonkey]

Be careful ... high sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure.

PS: Last I heard, 3000 mg of sodium is 2x to 3x the RDA (recommended daily allowance). Of course, the RDA is just an average.

most athletes can excrete about 3g of sodium in a good session of cardio.

[BodyBuild03]

most athletes can excrete about 3g of sodium in a good session of cardio.

yah i have heard this before also... seeing that Na Cl is what is in the extracellular fluid of cells and plays a vital role in the sodium/potassium transport ion channels of muscle contraction of neurons i wouldnt limit my salt intake too much... like others have said most foods contain some sodium but the only problem i see with having too much sodium is if you have a pre-existing case of high blood pressure... otherwise i wouldnt worry about it too much...

[SprtNvolcoM00]

Nice clearification. Thank you...

[thajeepster]

Be careful ... high sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure.

PS: Last I heard, 3000 mg of sodium is 2x to 3x the RDA (recommended daily allowance). Of course, the RDA is just an average.

rda is 2400mg i believe

[SprtNvolcoM00]

rda is 2400mg i believe

For two days ... ??

I dont know the actual #, but I do know (we use this example in my nutrition classes) that a subway sandwhich (1ft long) has about 2 days worth of sodium intake. A sub sandwhich is around 2,000mg +.

Again, I dont know the actual #s. i guess it doesnt matter though. As long as we're active and BP is normal, as mentioned, sodium intake is some what irrelavent (BodyBuild03 & ratmonkey).

[RipStone]

rda is 2400mg i believe

^^^ he's right

[wheatz45]

I think it all depends on what your goal is - if your bulking it is not something you really need to worry to much about.