I have seen people posting on here saying they went over their sodium intake. So I know there are things on "Nutrition Facts" labels indicating a daily allotment, but if I am dieting how do I figure out what my sodium intake should be? Just curious, it might be obvious but I feel like I see calorie calculators everywhere, but I don't know how to figure this out. Any help or direction is appreciated!

haha, I'm one of those people posting about my sodium. Basically the avg. person needs like 2500 mg or less sodium per day, which I have heard is equal to about 3 tablespoons. The reason it's important in dieting is because it causes water retention, which isn't that *bad*, but it's irritating because it effs up your weight on the scale and your digestive system (my personal opinion). So for me it's just about not going over that daily value...I think that people who are hypertensive should prob. do a low sodium diet, but I personally just don't want to go over that 2500mg, and I try to do much less, but it's not a priority vs. calories. So I don't really care if I get 500mg one day and 2000 another, but if it's over 2500mg, then I worry.

If you don't feel like writing it all down or trying to remember stuff, FitDay is a really awesome resource because it has zillions of foods in its food bank and it knows all the values and tabulates them for you.

Too much sodium in your diet can also give you high blood pressure. Generally you want less than 2300 mg a day. I get anywhere between 1800 and 3000 a day. Eating out always throws it way off... I try to stay away from eating out.

Most doctors now say that sodium cannot "give" you high blood pressure and neither does it raise blood pressure in everyone with high blood pressure.

Not everyone is sodium-sensivite - even among people with high blood pressure. I'm not saying that huge amounts of sodium is good for anyone, but the relationship to blood pressure is a bit more complicated than was once thought.

I for example am one of the odd-balls who has high blood pressure, but can't be on a sodium-restricted diet. My blood sodium levels are usually only a point or two away from being too low (and I've even had to take supplements before surgery to boost my sodium levels to safe level, because low blood sodium can be dangerous, especially during surgery). I don't go out of my way to restrict sodium, but my flavor preference for salt is pretty low (I just grew up in a family that didn't use it much, especially at the table), with the exception of asian food.

My body just doesn't "keep" enough sodium for some reason. My doctor says it's most likey due to a combination of my preference for less salt, one of my blood pressure medications which has a potential side-effect of sodium release, my relatively large fluid intake, and just the way my body deals with sodium (for some reason it "sheds" sodium faster than most people's bodies).

I'm not saying that sodium isn't an issue for some people, just that your personal optimal sodium level may be unique. 2500mg may be too much, too little, or it may not matter either way.

The best way to find out if sodium levels are something you need to consider is a medical check-up that includes a blood pressure check and the routine panel of blood tests. Ask your doctor for a copy of the results - and specifically ask about your sodium levels and your blood pressure, and whether you need to be keeping your dietary sodium in a specific range.

BTW, even though my blood sodium levels tend to run low, I still retain water if I eat more salt than I'm used to. Even though it doesn't affect my blood pressure, it does affect my weight, and it's something to consider. If I know I'm going to be eating a higher sodium meal, I make sure to drink extra water.

Thanks, everyone. So it sounds like I should just take a look at my blood work (I had a full panel done not too long ago, and got a printout, now I just have to find it!) and provided that it is normal, just be careful not to exceed the daily allotment that I see on labels.

The first diet plan I ever used was based around " low sodium ". I lost a good amt of weight, 40 lbs in fact. I've tried diets since then that haven't really worked ... or rather I haven't really been fond of ( I take full responsiblity for my failures ). This time though I am doing calorie counting but knowing the success I had with the first plan I ever tried .. I am keeping count of my sodium intake too. I dont really have a set number I want to try to stay below. I just pick foods that are low in sodium in general; which means a lot more fresh veggies instead of canned ones. I stay away from canned anything as much as I can and a lot of the prepackaged frozen dinners can be high in sodium. At the end of the day I'm usually pretty happy with my final sodium count. Just read your labels as much as possible. For example, if something says ONE serving is over 400 mg of sodium then you know to put it back. Ha Ha

I agree with the posts above me that it all depends on your body and how sodium affects you.

My doctor lied to me then! lol.

I wouldn't call it lying - just oversimplifying. I think most doctors find it easier to oversimplify or stay away from what they see as unnecessary explanations unless they HAVE to go into greater detail. When I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure, my doctor at the time told me that I should follow a low-sodium diet. When my doctor retired, my new doctor told me the same thing. Only when I started having issues with too-low sodium levels did I get the "bigger picture" information.

Even then, most of the information I've gotten has been doled out piece by piece as issues arose.

For example, only after my mother was hospitalized with water poisoning (when too much liquid is consumed, it depletes the body of electrolytes, primarily sodium) - did I learn that because of my low-sodium tendencies and the specific blood pressure medication I'm on (the same my mother was on), I shouldn't drink more than 3 liters of fluid daily (from all fluid sources - even watermelon should be taken into account). I do sometimes exceed 3 liters, but I try to do so only on days when I know I've taken in quite a bit of sodium.

With my tendency towards very low sodium levels, I am a bit surprised that no doctor ever thought to mention that I be careful with overdrinking beverages. I guess it's rare enough, they just didn't think about it (though when I bring it up to a new doctor, they always nod and say "yeah, that can happen you've got to be careful").

I second what Kaplods said. They've recently done a lot of research in regards to sodium and blood pressure. They've found that high sodium can cause it in some, but so can low sodium. Everyone's body is different, and probably consulting your CBC is the best way to go to figure out how much sodium you should have.

Your blood sodium level is not going to tell you if you're eating too much salt. It more often reflects fluid balance - dehydration (high blood sodium - and possibly an actual loss of total body sodium, just not as much as the loss of water) or fluid retention (low blood sodium - and probably an elevated total sodium content in the body - just not as elevated as the fluid retention). Your blood pressure might be exquisitely sensitive to sodium, and be very high when you eat too much sodium, with perfectly normal blood sodium levels.

My blood sodium levels are low whether or not I am dehydrated or retaining water. My blood pressure doesn't spike in respond to sodium increases (which has been proven to my satisfaction and my doctor's satisfaction).

I didn't mean to imply that blood sodium levels are an indicator of too much or too little dietary sodium. It's far more complicated than that. I'm only saying that the "whole picture" needs to be considered, and some of the pertinent factors are your blood sodium levels, your blood pressure, your blood pressure reaction to increases in sodium, the medications you are taking, your diet, your fluid intake and even your climate and intensity of exercise all play a role in evaluating your sodium needs. Blood pressure, hydration and sodium needs are related, but different issues.

My point is only to talk to your doctor about all the factors that are pertinent to your situation.

I wasn't addressing your case. The opposite - I was trying to indicate that your case is not typical. When I said "you," I meant the general "you."

My point was that getting a read out of your sodium level is meaningless to interpret on your own. You certainly did advise asking your doctor about what you should do, of course.

Yep, that really was my point as well - that "general recommendations" really are only a best guess. Most people will not have to be too worried about sodium one way or the other, but there's no way to tell whether a person is in the lucky majority or in the minority at either end (having issues with too much or too little sodium) without having a thorough check-up.