Sodium-Good or Bad

M

Molly07

0
How many mgs of Sodium would be considered Bad and Good.

Also, I know Sodium does something with salt and holding water maybe, but what is the real reason to stay away from large amounts?
 
I think it's like 3.5g /day is considered the daily value.. Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure, but yet it will cause you to retain some water.
 
Not all of the contents of sodium is salt
but general rule 100mgs< / serve ideal,
500 bad
1000 rubbish.

Yes, salt will cause you to retain fluid because 1. it clogs things up and 2. it dehydrates.

Blooming Lotus
 
I have to chime in here and comment..

Not sure what

Not all of the contents of sodium is salt

means... perhaps what was meant is that not all sodium comes from salt.. .you can ingest other forms of sodium...

Also sodium does not dehydrate you... how can it make you retain water if it dehydrates you... it doesn't clog anything up... what it does is increase the amount of sodium in your blood/body fluids... hence osmosis... and your body draws more water to dilute the sodium in your body fluids... thus retaining water... So if you have more sodium you need more water to avoid being dehydrated... so in a sense it can cause you to require more water or have a dehydrating affect.

That being said... it depends on what you are trying to accomplish... if you are trying to build muscle eating very low sodium could slow that process down... I read something about that somewhere... but do your own research if that is the case... if you are trying to loose weight... watch your sodium and because if will affect what your scale tells you... eat more sodium and you will weigh more... I can retain 1-2 pounds more water if I have a salty meal...
 
case and point on sodium's dehydrating affect... people who get stranded in the ocean (say on a raft) die from dehydration... not starvation... drinking salt water.... not good
 
As a registered nurse, I just have to chime in that sodium does NOT make you dehydrated. That's why when people are out on ships out in the sun where they will be sweating, they are given "salt pills" to stay hydrated. Water follows sodium. I know when I was very ill, my body would not hold onto water, and my blood volume dropped 30%. The fix? My cardiologist put me on a high sodium diet, 7g per day. Yes, I said 7 GRAMS per day. (That's a lot.) But it was the only way to increase my blood volume by increasing water content.

That's all, carry on. :D
 
I don't worry at all about sodium unless I was getting ready for a comp or had high BP. As said above anything around 3g a day would be ok for me.

Just be sure you are drinking alot of water which will help excrete the excess water from the body and lower sodium levels.
 
I retain lots and lots of fluid, so I have to be extra careful when it comes to my sodium intake. I've actually fluctuated up to 9 lbs in 24 hours when I wasn't being careful, and would average a fluctuation of around 4-5 lbs, depending on what I ate. Now that I'm eating better, my weight will only change a couple of pounds a day or so at the most.
 
jsobo119 said:
case and point on sodium's dehydrating affect... people who get stranded in the ocean (say on a raft) die from dehydration... not starvation... drinking salt water.... not good
Click to expand...


actually drinking sea water would deyhrate you... and consuming too much salt would dehydrate you but at what point your body starts trying to get rid of the excess sodium instead of just retaining water... I don't know...

Salt pills ARE used to help people retain more water... if they are going to be sweating alot... basically so you can load up on water... But if you took to many they WOULD dehydrate you because your body would freak out and try to get rid of the sodium by producing more urine... Thus expelling water...



3 grams is basically a good number... <2400mg is the RDA

which was your question anyways...
 
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