Sodium – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[ 8 ] 08/25/2009 | Lissa

We are all familiar with salt (sodium). I for one, know that if I eat salty foods before weigh-in day, I will most likely experience less of a loss and my fingers will puff up and look like sausages. But what do we REALLY know?

Sodium is an essential part of your diet. It:

Helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body
Helps transmit nerve impulses
Influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles

Your kidneys are in charge of your sodium levels. Get too little, they will conserve. Get too much, they excrete extra as urine. BUT, if they can’t eliminate enough, it will be stored in your blood. Sodium loves to hold water, and that = increased blood volume.

Increased blood volume = heart working harder to push the blood through blood vessels = increased pressure in your arteries.

Not good, right???

So how much sodium do you actually need?

Most organizations recommend that you do not exceed the range of 1,500 mg to 2,400 mg per day. The lower your sodium, the more beneficial to your blood pressure.

Sodium adds up quickly. Watch out for processed, frozen prepared meals, and condiments. Even natural foods (meat, dairy, veggies…) contain sodium, so make sure you are counting that in your daily totals!

READ LABELS!!! These are all compounds that contain salt or sodium:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Baking soda
Baking powder
Disodium phosphate
Sodium alginate
Sodium nitrate or nitrite

How to reduce your sodium intake:

Eat fresh! Watch those processed foods.
Go for the low-sodium version when possible.
Careful with the condiments!
Use herbs and spices to flavor your food.

If you are like me and are reaching for those salty snacks, you may want to think twice! Your taste for salt is acquired, and therefore, is REVERSIBLE! Decrease your intake gradually, and those damn taste buds will never miss it! Kiss that extra sodium buh-bye!

Source: MayoClinic.com

About Lissa: Melissa is the Co-Founder of Shrinking Kitchen and the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans She has been married for a dozen years and is mother to four children (15,12, 8 and 8), with more soon coming her way through the foster care system. Melissa has a love/hate relationship with food (okay, mostly candy) and cooking. This isn't improved by the fact that her husband, the true family chef, works in another city half the year, leaving Melissa to figure out how to feed her growing family something other than Pop-Tarts. Melissa loves her camera, enjoys traveling, kickboxing, creating beautiful things she finds on Pinterest, and planning her dream home that will be built… someday. melissa@shrinkingjeans.net :: @lissajoy :: whereverimaywander.com :: pinning here View author profile.

http://www.losewithlisa.blogspot.com TexasLisa972

Thank you for this post! I learned something today!
http://www.thekrumwiedesix.blogspot.com Kristin @ OneCrazyMamaof4

so you mean my Doritos that are loaded with MSG aren't a 'good' snack ;)
http://thesassymama.blogspot.com Heather

Great post! A while back I went through and looked at our processed food and was stunned at the amount of sodium in them. Crazy!
Growing up, my mom never put salt in while she was cooking – which resulted in very bland food, but also I think I have less of a taste for salt.
Sugar, on the other hand…
http://www.fittothefinish.com/blog Diane Fit to the Finish

I love it when someone posts something so important! My husband has issues with blood pressure, and his doctor is always on him about this.

Sometimes I'm still surprised when I look at the label on processed foods. Who knew they contained so much sodium!!
anng

When my little boy was just starting to eat “real” food is when I started watching the sodium and other ingredients in our foods. He is allergic to dairy and eggs now, but when he was younger he was allergic to even more things. This got me in the habit of reading ingredients and nutrients. It really helped me to know “what we were eating”.

Thanks for the reminder that we do need “some” sodium…since I try to go to extremes when I am watching my food intake, sometimes I limit the good stuff, too!
http://thesassymama.blogspot.com Heather

Great post! A while back I went through and looked at our processed food and was stunned at the amount of sodium in them. Crazy!
Growing up, my mom never put salt in while she was cooking – which resulted in very bland food, but also I think I have less of a taste for salt.
Sugar, on the other hand…
http://www.fittothefinish.com/blog Diane Fit to the Finish

I love it when someone posts something so important! My husband has issues with blood pressure, and his doctor is always on him about this.

Sometimes I'm still surprised when I look at the label on processed foods. Who knew they contained so much sodium!!
anng

When my little boy was just starting to eat “real” food is when I started watching the sodium and other ingredients in our foods. He is allergic to dairy and eggs now, but when he was younger he was allergic to even more things. This got me in the habit of reading ingredients and nutrients. It really helped me to know “what we were eating”.

Thanks for the reminder that we do need “some” sodium…since I try to go to extremes when I am watching my food intake, sometimes I limit the good stuff, too!