Sodium

[GenuinePL]

Is sodium bad for you or not?
If Yes, then what does it do wrong?

[Ms Figure]

Sodium isn't actually bad for you, it is essential for muscle contraction. However, in larger doses it can have negative affects, too much salt in your diet can be harmful. As a BB Sodium will increase water retention, so competitive BB will reduce sodium intake before a show. When AAS items are used which are renound for increasing water retention then sodium should be monitored.

[Billy Boy]

You do need sodium in your diet due to the fact you lose it when you sweat but too much is bad for you and can also lead to water retention.Don,t add salt to your food as there is enough in most processed foods anyway.I never add salt to my diet

[beenie]

Your question is an interesting one. A few years ago the AMA was advocationg a low sodium diets, telling people that to much salt in the diet lead to heart desease. I think they have backed off that position after a large scale study a couple years back. Apperntly a large intake of sodium causes blood pressure to spike up, but then after a few hours it goes back down to where it was before. So, if you don't have a heart condition it is generally ok.

Also, as I see an earlier responder posted, you need salt if you are working out. Thats the "electrolites" in gator aid. It adds to the body's ability to retain hydration.

[GenuinePL]

It's not salt that I concerned about. I don't use salt. But some of the foods have a shit load of it in ti and I don't know how to reduce that

[beenie]

I know what you mean. While I am not sure why you want to cut down your sodium intake I can suggest this: stay away from processed foods. In addition to sodium there are a lot of other additives in them you probably don't want, that may be a lot worse than the sodium.

Just as an example: When I fist began the Atkins diet, it was working very well. All of a sudden I went out of ketosis and could not figure out why. As nearly as I could tell, I was ingesting almost no carbs. Eventually I figured out that Roy Rogers on the New Jersey turnpike makes scrambled eggs from a mix. The mix, believe it or not contain sucrose. Why they would add suar to scrambled eggs is beyond me, but they do. I eliminated Roy's eggs and got back on track.

My point here is not to boycott Roy Rogers, but rather, anything that you don't have control over is suspect and there is not much you can do about it, other than being aware of it and making a decision whether or not to eat it.

[GenuinePL]

You guys are awesome. Best advices ever.

Eggs from RR. ewwwwwwwwwwww LOL

[bex]

fresh food not prossesed is the only way to go then you can moniter the amount of salt you use.

[TNT]

The solution is quite simple, and often right there in front of your eyes: the nutrition label, which is required on all manufactured food products sold in the U.S.

The maximum recommended daily allowance of sodium is 2,400 mg. Some products are low in sodium, while others are so ridiculously high that you will get more sodium than the maximum allowance in one package.

Watch out especially for: any canned soups (you might find 1,800 mg. or more in one can of Campbell's soup), processed canned products (beans 'n franks, ravioli, Beefaroni, etc.), snack products (Fritos, nachos), salad dressings (especially if you pour them on), frozen pizzas (and related products like frozen lasagna or TV dinners), and cold cuts (up to 700 mg. in a single slice of some things). If it's a product that you might consume in its package entirety, be careful about serving sizes - a can of Campbell's soup may have two or three servings in it, so you have to multiply the sodium content by the amount of servings to find out what's in the entire can).

Does that mean that you have to cut all of these products? Not necessarily. It means that you will get less sodium if you measure one serving (as opposed to a whole can, bag, or package), or if you switch to a brand that has less sodium. And you'd be surprised - once you stop using table salt or other high-sodium products, after a week or so, you'll never miss the excess sodium.

One other thing to be careful about: Restaurant foods. Have you ever seen what they do at Burger King and McDonald's when they pull the fries out of the deep fryer? (They sprinkle salt all over them - lots of it.) With packaged foods from a supermaket, at least you've got the food label; with fast foods from a restaurant, you don't.

So, what does too much sodium do? From a BB perspective, the main factor is that it causes you to retain water. From a general health perspective, too much sodium can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, edema, or congestive heart failure, among other things. And for persons prone to any of thee conditions, cutting sodium does make a big difference in improving their health.

[GenuinePL]

Originally posted by TNT

So, what does too much sodium do? From a BB perspective, the main factor is that it causes you to retain water. From a general health perspective, too much sodium can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, edema, or congestive heart failure, among other things. And for persons prone to any of thee conditions, cutting sodium does make a big difference in improving their health.

Thanks TNT, that's what I was looking for. Thanks a lot