SALT - how bad is it??
 

I've just started on Fitday and have been logging my food for the last 4 days... i've had a lot of fun going through all the features and analysing everything! One notable feature about my diet though is the sodium content.... i end up doing about 300% RDI on most day and never under 100%!!!

What can too much salt do in terms of health and trying to lose weight??

Also, i went food shopping today and couldn't believe how much sodium 'no/low fat' products have compared to regular products!! It's like a double edge sword!!!!

Suggestions?

Would love to see what people with more knowledge than I would have to say about this. I try not to think of my sodium. I am horrible with it. And can not have veggies, or most things without sprinkling some sea salt on it. And you would think my body wouldn't crave salt. But some nights, I find myself craving salt hard core. Sometimes a couple almonds help with that. ;)

Tina

The only thing that I know about salt is that it causes the body to retain water. Once I went to my dr...years back. He pressed his thumb on my shin and left an indention, asked what I had for lunch (cheeseburger & fries :o ) and told me to cut back on the salt because I was holding water. He said if you press on your leg and the indention stays you are holding water and that mine was caused by high sodium.

Salt intake is linked to a number of medical disorders. I'm not an MD, but I encourage you to do the research for yourself -- heart disease especially is often linked to a high-sodium diet.

In the short run, yes, you'll retain water and lose weight more slowly. The % daily salt was recently lowered to 1500mg, so it's even LOWER than you think now! Struggling with salt is a daily thing for a lot of us here - I try to eat fresh greens/veggies whenever I can and not out of a can, but some days, you just have to.

Just be conscious of it and do your best, and do some research as well :)

Sodium is crazy--I don't add salt to anything and I still end up two to three times the RDA even eating only 1500-1600 calories! I'm hoping I drink enough water and eat enough potassium to partially off-set it. I know it causes fluid retention and can cause/worsen high blood pressure.

Regards,
Michael

Processed and packaged foods...
 

...They are so convenient, but they usually add a ton of salt for preservative and flavor enhansement reasons. The very best way to reduce sodium consumption is to reduce the about of processed (including fast) food you consume.

It is easiest done slowly. Pick something that you can fairly easily prepare yourself rather than buying in a can like chili or spagetti sauce (although be careful with canned tomatoes - go for the low sodium versions). You can also try to use the "5 ingredient" rule. If a package of something supposedly edible contains more that 5 ingredients, put it back.

And finally just simplify your diet. Grilled chicken, fish, or red meat, a side salad or steamed veggie, and maybe a serving of rice or polenta. Not much sodium (although red meat does contain some) and totally delish!

OMG! I am craving salt like crazy, more than sugar.
I can't eat fruit without salt. Sometimes, I just lick salt by itself.
Recently I try to lower it in my cooking but I feel the food very plain.
Mai

Low sodium
 

Salt affects so much in the body. Diabetics must watch the intake as it affects metabolism. Salt reduction is drastically needed for high-blood pressure reduction. So much of high-fat foods are also high sodium foods. Processed meats, cheeses, snacks, frozen diet dinners, diet foods use sodium to make them taste better.

Cutting fat AND sodium need to go hand in hand. Unfortunately, these are the things that got us all here to begin with.

A wise woman once said "The food that made you fat will not be the food that makes you thin."

Try sea salt to reduce sodium to start. It tastes much saltier and is lower in sodium than ordinary table salt.

I find that if I seek out the taste of pepper first before salt, I can feel satisfied shaking the pepper on my food. It will always be a struggle for me.

Good luck!

My Personnel point of view is that the RDI isn't really accurate even if it is done by "experts"
World wide survey and several studies showed and that at least 79% of people around the world regardless to their cultures, tradition and race ,consume more that the limit RDI.
This for me a clear sign that the RDI numbers are just wrong.
As long as I stay completely away from processed food I have no worry about the sodium that I take as a table salt condiment .
I follow my tongue and taste when it comes to salt, I think that our bodies is smart enough to tell us stop taking salt if we were taking too much of it.

Thanks to everybodies advice! I'm going to try to simplify my meals 3/4 times a week to start reducing the sodium and definitely try to find a sea salt shaker!

I use sea salt for cooking and iodized salt for the table (your body needs a certain amount of iodine and it's added to salt for just that reason like vitamin D is added to milk). We also only use home canned tomatoes and frozen veggies from the garden. Cutting out soda took a load off my sodium intake as did omitting most processed foods. I still end most days rather higher than I should, but it's a start.

Salt is a big culprit in elevating blood pressure which is the measurement that tells us how quickly our arteries are hardening...everyone here has given such good ideas for lowering our daily intake. Dr Oz says to just make one change at a time to form a good habit and that sounds like wise counsel to me! ( I do best not trying to take on more than one thing at a time )

There's a lot of research out there that says it takes a person anywhere from 14-20 times of "doing" something (anything you want to change, like salt or sleeping) for it to become a habit :) So making one change at a time until it is a habit is not a great way to go.

I used to pour salt over my food as well, though I've switched to just adding non-salted herbs to food, and that perks up the flavor some, to the point where I'm not a little sensitive about salt. I started this about 6 weeks ago. Right now I'm in love with a seasoning bland from Perfect Pinch (McCormick) called "Savory" -- it's no-salt, has a lot of different herbs in it (chili pepper, thyme, oregano, rosemary, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric acid, paprika along with lemon and orange zest), and really perks up the flavor of almost any meat (though I find I don't like it on fish). They have a bunch of "salt free" ones and it makes adding herbs a breeze. Of course I'll add fresh herbs too when called for :)

Just experiment. Salt masks so many other great flavors!