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combatting sodium?

Old 04-04-06, 03:42 PM
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combatting sodium?

Im taking in roughly 5000 mg a day of sodium. I admit, Im eating alot of prepacked meats such as ham, turkey etc. Working full time, wife and 3 kids all under 7. Theres no way I can prepare fresh veggies every meal. Its very difficult to spread my meals out to 5-6 a day and try to keep them small.

Sheesh, look and feel like a blowfish. I read that the body needs 1500-2400 mg. per day of sodium. Im hitting the 5k meter and when I really try to watch it, around 3500. Ive lost almost 20 pounds since feb with correct eating and rding the bike everyday whether on the trainer or outside on the road. Just trying to scrape as much as I can before my goal day of 6/15/06. Im 17 pounds away from my goal.

How do I cut my salt in half every day?

Thanks, yalls awesome
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Old 04-04-06, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by C_heath
Im taking in roughly 5000 mg a day of sodium. I admit, Im eating alot of prepacked meats such as ham, turkey etc. Working full time, wife and 3 kids all under 7. Theres no way I can prepare fresh veggies every meal. Its very difficult to spread my meals out to 5-6 a day and try to keep them small.

Sheesh, look and feel like a blowfish. I read that the body needs 1500-2400 mg. per day of sodium. Im hitting the 5k meter and when I really try to watch it, around 3500. Ive lost almost 20 pounds since feb with correct eating and rding the bike everyday whether on the trainer or outside on the road. Just trying to scrape as much as I can before my goal day of 6/15/06. Im 17 pounds away from my goal.

How do I cut my salt in half every day?

Thanks, yalls awesome
no secret, watch labels and don't add any
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Old 04-04-06, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by mx_599
no secret, watch labels and don't add any
+1

have no sodium peanut butter, jam, low sodium Ezekiel bread, a banana, and a glass of milk - a healthy balanced meal that doesn't require cooking and has very little sodium

Actually, the body only needs 500 - 1000 mg a day.

The trick is to read labels. It's quite easy to avoid sodium once you are aware of where it is.
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Old 04-04-06, 05:50 PM
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Are you sodium sensitive? If you are, then salt with have a big effect on your blood pressure, and you need to eat less of it.

If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You're already making dietary changes, you've lost 20 pounds - keep up with that.

Oh, and one other thought - if you're riding every day, you're sweating out a fair bit of sodium, so you need a bit more than the average.
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Old 04-04-06, 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ericgu
Are you sodium sensitive? If you are, then salt with have a big effect on your blood pressure, and you need to eat less of it.

If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You're already making dietary changes, you've lost 20 pounds - keep up with that.

Oh, and one other thought - if you're riding every day, you're sweating out a fair bit of sodium, so you need a bit more than the average.
Yep.

Sedentary people with high blood pressure need to watch their sodium levels. Athletic people with normal blood pressure and putting in several hours a week of exercise (in this case, cycling) need to make sure they get enough sodium. Muscles need it.
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Old 04-04-06, 07:12 PM
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ok then, yes, I ride (either inside or out) just about 6 days a week. I always take sunday off unless its just killer outside. My BP this morning was 108 over 68 and my RHR is 59. When Im inside, I sweat really bad (no wind) outsides not so bad because of my blazing fast avg. speeds (15 mph lol)

Ive lost most of my weight by eating Thin sliced hams, turkey sandwiches, Subway, and staying away from Mcd's and Mountain Dew. I would drink 12 cans of it a day. Not to mention the Value meal #3 after 2 bacon,egg and cheese for breakfast, then junkout for supper as well.

Just took notice the last few weeks at the sodium. My weightloss is slowing down and I really wanted to blame it on something so I picked sodium.

Ill keep hammering.
Thanks guys!
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I don't like any other exercise or sports, really.
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Old 04-04-06, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by C_heath
ok then, yes, I ride (either inside or out) just about 6 days a week. I always take sunday off unless its just killer outside. My BP this morning was 108 over 68 and my RHR is 59. When Im inside, I sweat really bad (no wind) outsides not so bad because of my blazing fast avg. speeds (15 mph lol)

Ive lost most of my weight by eating Thin sliced hams, turkey sandwiches, Subway, and staying away from Mcd's and Mountain Dew. I would drink 12 cans of it a day. Not to mention the Value meal #3 after 2 bacon,egg and cheese for breakfast, then junkout for supper as well.

Just took notice the last few weeks at the sodium. My weightloss is slowing down and I really wanted to blame it on something so I picked sodium.

Ill keep hammering.
Thanks guys!
if you don't really have a sensitivity to it as mentioned, i wouldn't worry too much about it. focus on something else and eating better as you are and the sodium will come down. any excess sodium you ingest will be filtered and secreted for excretion
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Old 04-04-06, 09:12 PM
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kool thx
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Originally Posted by rousseau
I don't like any other exercise or sports, really.
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Old 04-04-06, 09:24 PM
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Any package that says "Reduced ________" usually has whatever they removed, replaced with sodium

So as others said, read the labels.
Things as simple and nutritionaly healthy sounding as vegetable soup, can have a LOT of sodium.
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Old 04-05-06, 02:01 AM
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Blood-pressure has less to do with absolute sodium intake than with the relative balance between sodium vs. potassium & magnesium & calcium. If you exercise and sweat more than the average office-cubicle dweller, you'd need 300-500% more sodium than average (about 500-1000mg/hr of exercising). Low sodium is also part of the problem with people dying from hyponatremia (the other part being drinking too much). Inadequate sodium prevents proper regulation of water in the body.

Here's some journals:

JAP - Role of potassium in regulating blood flow and blood pressure Dietary supplementation of potassium can lower blood pressure in normal and some hypertensive patients. Again, in contrast to NaCl restriction, the response to potassium supplementation is slow to appear, taking ~4 wk. Such supplementation reduces the need for antihypertensive medication. "Salt-sensitive" hypertension responds particularly well, perhaps, in part, because supplementation with potassium increases the urinary excretion of sodium chloride.

NewsTarget - Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic most theories focus on sodium's in vivo interaction with potassium, magnesium and calcium. In fact, some experts believe that these nutrients play more of a role in these individuals' salt sensitivity than sodium itself. Deficiencies in these complementary minerals may actually be the larger culprit in hypertension.

UMMC - What Lifestyle Changes are needed to Control High BLood Pressure Some experts believe that sufficient intake of minerals, particularly potassium, magnesium, and calcium, may be more beneficial than salt restriction for reducing blood pressure.

* Potassium. Studies have indicated that potassium deficiencies increase the risk for high blood pressure. More important more recent studies indicate that a potassium-rich diet may reduce hypertension. The best source of potassium is from the fruits and vegetables that contain them. In fact, there is some evidence that a potassium-rich diet can reduce the risk of stroke by 22% to 40%.


Body & Fitness - What is Blood Pressure? However, Dr. Whitaker states unequivocally that it is as important to increase your intake of both magnesium and potassium as it is to reduce your intake of salt. Potassium works with sodium to help regulate fluids in the cells, and to equalize the acid-alkaline balance in the blood. To function correctly, these minerals need to be present in the body in a ratio of 5:1, potassium to sodium. Health Counselor editor Karolyn Ga***** reports that the typical American diet includes twice as much sodium as potassium. This results in water retention and the loss of potassium through the urine. In fact, Researchers from the University of Mississippi report that too little potassium combined with too much sodium may be a major contributing factor in the development of hypertension.

DairyCouncil - A New Look At Dietary Patterns and Hypertension

Physiological Reviews - Sodium/Calcium Exchange: Its Physiological Implications

CSU - Diet and Hypertension A newer area of interest is the relationship between calcium and high blood pressure. People with a low calcium intake seem to be at increased risk for hypertension. Everyone should meet the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for calcium every day. For adults, this is 1,000 mg per day. For adults over 50, 1,200 mg is recommended.

However, note that high-calcium intake inhibits absorption of iron. So take just the recommended dosage of calcium, it's all about balance. All that said, it does seem your 5000mg of sodium is a little on the large side unless you're riding 2-3 hours/day... Try using the potassium-based salts like Morton's NoSalt...

Last edited by DannoXYZ; 01-17-07 at 12:59 PM.
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