Sodium question
 

I never really thought about sodium before, and how it effects my weight loss.
I was thinking about it today after reading someone's post...and I was wondering...

For you, personally, or "in general"...how does sodium effect your weight loss?
I never thought about it playing a factor in losing weight, but maybe I should investigate it more. :?:

I think if you drink enough water it shouldn't do too much. . .MSG and preservatives are another story!!

Many of the sports and sugar free drinks are loaded with sodium. From what I understand sodium will cause you to retain water. Too much sodium in your diet will also contribute to the hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure.

I was looking at a can of Vienna Sausages that I was eating for lunch...within my calorie range and 12 grams of protein...and the sodium was like 850mg for the whole can. Sounds kind of high!

Whew that is high on the sodium, I switched to using seasalt, it is a bit better.

Because sodium can cause water retention, it can cause a temporary weight gain. However, this is not a fat gain, and drinking plenty of water will help flush your system. You should try to contain total sodium to no more than about 2000 mg a day - not easy to do if you eat canned or prepared foods.

A high sodium intake is not only serious for folks with high blood pressure, but can also bring on congestive heart failure, a potential killer. Avoiding a lot of sodium makes sense for everyone who is concerned about their health!

I have been looking into this very thing because I was worried about how much sodium fit day said I was taking in a day. American Heart ***. says no more than 2300 but the American Lung *** says no more than 3300. Can depend on the person. There is no " one salt shaker fits all " when it comes to sodium intake. My doc said up to 3300 is fine for me. I have no health problems, I don't retain water. I don't have to worry about it. I still try to keep my sodium count down to around 2500. I happen to like sea salt to cook with.

i don't think about it - and maybe i should. HOWEVER - i've been using more seasalt. one of the things we have to keep in mind is that our 'portions' are generally much smaller than the serving sizes on labels, so we're actually getting less sodium than you might think.

having said that, though, if you have problems with your BP, or are retaining water, or having a weight gain that you can't figure out, looking at your sodium intake is a GOOD IDEA!!!

jiffy
You are right in a lot of cases. I was making one of those Lipton side dishes, noodles, ya I know bad for us but I was being lazy that night lol. I looked at the serving size it said 2 in the bag. OH MY GOSH, who on earth eats that much. I feed four of us. Once you broke everything down into 4, what was in the stuff wasn't so bad lol.

Fron the Mayo Clinic:
Sea salt and table salt have the same nutritional value. The real differences between sea salt and table salt are in their taste and texture.

Be careful in assuming sea salt is better for you. It has the same sodium content.

murph
You are correct. I just happen to like the different taste of sea salt for cooking.