7 replies to this topic

[shifter]

We are told to watch our sodium intake but if our diets are high in sodium is there a way to negate the fact you had a lot and essentially be like the guy who didn't have much at all?

 

For example, the V8 vegetable juice - it has a fair chunk of potassium (an electrolyte that most diets don't come close to getting enough of btw). Potassium is an antagonist to sodium, therefore can we say that the sodium in V8 juice is not as 'bad as it seems'. We put salt on potato chips, however potatoes are another excellent source of potassium.

 

I also like to eat sardines now a few times a week. That has a fair chunk of sodium but is another decent source of potassium.

 

I use a salt at home that is 50% sodium chloride and 50% potassium chloride. Would this give me the benefits of obtaining electrolytes in my diet while negating the negative effects of 'too much' sodium?

 

Is sodium just bad when its consumed 'on its own' (ie without potassium) and without much water?

 

On water, can drinking an extra glass (that you otherwise would not have drunk) compensate for extra sodium intake?

 

 

[misterE]

I use salt to salt my beans and lentils and there is a ton of salt in the spaghetti sauce I use on my spaghetti and there is also a liberal amount of salt in the mashed-potatoes I make.

 

I don't strictly limit my salt intake, for instance usually every morning for breakfast I have either: barley, whole-wheat penne-rigate or oatmeal, which I eat without added salt. I eat white-rice almost daily, which I also don't salt... However I do consume salty foods on occasion, but since I eliminate so much salt already, I feel like the salty foods I do eat doesn't affect me much and I probably eat overall less salt than most people in my immediate surrounding. Fruits and vegetables (which are naturally low in sodium) as well as beans and potatoes provide potassium, which counterbalances sodium intake.

 

[pamojja]

Many risk of high salt intake come from being correlated with a heavily processed junk food diet. And then with somewhat higher blood-pressure in a small part of the population. I to extensive testing to see where I'm at, and maybe to your surprise, despite heavily supplementing Na, haven't overcome my deficiency.

[xEva]

On water, can drinking an extra glass (that you otherwise would not have drunk) compensate for extra sodium intake?

yes plain water removes excess sodium and thirst is the first sign that you had too much salt.
 
Most health-minded people today are actually deficient in sodium  -- and you too, shifter, may have succumbed to anti-salt propaganda. But sodium is our main electrolyte.
 
There is a simple test: if plain water tastes nasty to you and you would rather drink anything but plain water, then you're deficient in sodium. (but if you add a pinch of salt to the same water you'll be amazed how delicious it suddenly becomes!)
 
So how is it for you shifter? can you down a glass of plain water without cringing? Do you get headache soon after if you can? Do this simple test before you do anything, coz it may turn out that you should up your sodium instead.

 

..and the other thing that loses sodium is sweating in sauna or steam room. Or you can drink coffee or green tea, or any other common diuretic, coz they all work by forcing kidneys to excrete sodium (and with it goes water).

Edited by xEva, 05 August 2017 - 12:13 AM.

[shifter]

Water is my preferred drink. Sometimes I'll have a coffee or green tea but I generally shun any drink with lots of sugars (especially added) in it

I was looking at that V8 vegetable juice and noticed that despite its high sodium, it is an excellent source of potassium. So is the sodium such a big deal?

I notice potatoes are great for potassium so is it a big deal to sprinkle some salt on them?

I think its hyped up a bit but I do think many people who aren't health concious eat too much junk and do not drink enough water so would have a problem with salt. Potassium seems to be the lind of nutrient you can get enough of only if you eat lots of really good and healthy foods

Edited by shifter, 18 August 2017 - 10:27 PM.

[misterE]

Most salt resides in unhealthy foods, like chips, french-fries, salami etc. Eating whole-foods will eliminate most excessive sodium intake, and will allow you to healthfully add back some sodium to taste. Also another tip is to add salt to the surface of the food and not to cook with salt, adding it to the surface of the food makes the taste more potent compared to having it cooked in the food itself. 

[Peter14]

If you want to use V8.  There is a low sodium variety.  I've seen it in many stores.  https://www.campbell...low-sodium-v8/ 

[kurdishfella]

Too little sodium causes water retention so that it stays in the body longer and works but also too much sodium does as well. Most people in west have an excess problem though.

Edited by kurdishfella, 16 December 2021 - 03:04 PM.