Hi all,

What is the issue with sodium? I've noticed people on these boards talking about 'keeping their sodium down' and I'm wondering why sodium is a big deal. I like salt. I'm a heavy smoker, so I use quite a bit of salt on my food and I like salty foods, too. By the same token, my diet is quite healthy--I get all my calories in the right places, eat lots of veggies, don't eat too much fat or carbs and don't eat alot of processed food. Isn't a happy amount of salt a reasonable treat in the midst of such virtue?

hi baffled salt clogs your arteries and you retain water. some salt is fine for flavour. glen

I love salt too and I ingest a ton. I found when I reduced my intake, not by getting rid of my salt shaker (never!) but by limiting pre-packaged food, i was a lot less bloated. That's why i try to watch it, water retention.

I think a lot of it depends on where you are on your weight loss journey. I think a very heavy person, with a lot of weight to lose and a lot of bad eating habits to change, should not focus too much on sodium right at the beginning. It adds too much stress to the changes you are already making, and makes weight loss harder. OTOH, it is natural, as we continue our journey, to become more conscious of more issues and become healthier and healthier. How healthy, and how much you are willing to give up, a little at a time, is always up to you.

I have been on a real crusade about sodium...the March issue of Prevention has a great article....."the one ingredient doctors don't eat". ..saying it is their new crusade to limit and to call it the food additive that is not safe. the AMA is asking the FDA to not list it as safe..or there is talk of that, anyway.......I used to say they would pry the salt shaker out of my cold, dead fingers......I guess the same could be said now, but with new meaning!

When I went on Fat Smash, it is so wholesome and real, with very little sodium, I lost water weight immediately...the main thing about sodium is that is causes your arteries to be tough, not stretchy.....very bad for blood pressure.......something to think about.....but very, very hard to keep under 2400 mg. It is everywhere! There is salt in sweet stuff and sugar in salty foods...I guess that is what people mean by saying "eating clean"

In a moderation, a moderate amount of salt is good and necessary for the body, usually approx. 600 mg/d. (one serving of most preserved lunch meat) But, with most Western diets nowadays, everyone receives too much salt additive with processed or restaurant meals. The recommended daily limit is 2,000 mg./d, which most average people get from just the sodas alone.
Most of the population don't have to worry, but some feel that this is a contributing factor to HTN, hypertension, high blood pressure.
If you are serious about weight loss, Sodium Chloride does cause fluid retention in the body. If you wish to cut down, try doing so gradually, finding other spices to replace it, and keep in mind that it takes the body 2 months of actually performing a diet change to accept it as norm. And yes, to eat clean is to leave out all sugar other than fructose from fruit, and salt.......

I limit my salt intake because I honestly see no need for it. I don't eat processed foods and I don't add much if any salt to my cooking. The most salt I get is usually from eating out. I don't know if it is a blessing or not but I can really taste how salty foods are when I eat out and they add a lot of salt. I guess the "normal" person wouldn't recognize it but I definitely do.

Water retention
High blood pressure
Increased risk of heart disease and stroke
An article in BBC says there's also links to osteoporosis, stomach cancer and other health problems.