Friday Fact or Fiction: Sodium is Bad For Me

 

VERDICT: FALSE - Sodium is integral to many body functions, including blood pressure regulation and controlling muscle contractions. It is more important to monitor your intake and make sure you don't have too much sodium in your diet than to cut it out completely.

It is true that high amounts of sodium can cause high blood pressure. Since high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of heart disease, the number one killer in America, it's easy to see why sodium has become the bad guy. People with high blood pressure typically consume too much sodium. So, being the all-or-nothing type of society that we are, we follow accordingly and decide that sodium is bad for everyone. In reality, sodium is not bad for you. It has a purpose, so read on before you decide to give in to this myth.

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An element on the periodic table, you've probably wondered where sodium has a place it has in a diet. It is in actuality, a very important part of the human body that regulates blood pressure as well as controlling muscle contractions. Sodium can be found in every single sports drink and any electrolyte supplement taken by athletes. It is what keeps you from getting cramps during exercise. Your body needs sodium to function.

Medical-dictionary.com tells us that hyponatremia, low sodium, can lead to tiredness, disorientation, headache, muscle cramps, and nausea. Plasma sodium levels of 125 mm or less are dangerous and can result in seizures and coma. This can be caused by long periods of time on a low sodium diet.

If you do not currently have high blood pressure, do not assume a low sodium diet, especially under the misguided impression that it will help you lose weight. Manipulating your sodium levels can cause water loss for a short period of time, but it will absolutely not lead to weight loss because sodium has no calories. It is wise to monitor fast food intake, which typically has sodium levels through the roof as not to put yourself at risk for developing high blood pressure, but it's simply not necessary to just avoid all sodium.

The U.S. Library of Medicine asserts that high sodium intake can cause high blood pressure in individuals that are sensitive to sodium. This is mostly hereditary. A clean diet and consistent exercise regimen is the best way to fight high blood pressure risk. Prevention in this aspect can come through moderate sodium intake. The FDA's current recommended daily amount of Sodium is 1500 mg, the cautionary upper intake levels being 2,000 mg. Mayoclinic.com provides that just one teaspoon of table salt has 2,325 milligrams (mg) of sodium, so it's smart to research and find flavorful alternatives.

The key here is to be careful, not paranoid. Don't just read the title of an article you glance at in a magazine and write off something as true for everyone. We all have different nutritional needs, so just make sure you're meeting yours. This includes sodium.