After I made a claim in DAY 26 involving salt and water intake, I decided to do some research. From what I’ve gathered, and what most of us already know, high salt intake causes the body to store additional fluids in order to help the kidneys process the excess sodium. That makes sense. However, I wanted to know if high water consumption could negate the effects of a high sodium diet.
There aren’t many sites devoted to this topic, since basically everyone tells you to cut your sodium. “Reduce the salt,” they say. Well, I discovered that sweating actually makes you excrete sodium. I didn’t need Google to tell me that. My sweat tastes salty. However, athletes are actually at risk of having too little sodium in their blood stream (source). This is not to say that we are all Olympic athletes and should eat 5000mg of salt a day. That’s just suicide. But, this shows that sodium can be regulated with exercise! So instead of emphasizing a decrease in salt consumption, there should be higher emphasis on exercise. Working out is good for your heart, muscles, lungs, and the rest of your body.
Another interesting tidbit I discovered, thanks to Harvard Health, was that increasing your potassium intake helps to trigger more sodium excretion by the kidneys. Foods that are high in potassium include bananas, spinach, mushrooms, oranges, and potatoes (source). Who knew starchy potatoes could be good for you!
So there you have it. Basically, it boils down to healthy eating and living. If you exercise consistently, decrease the junk food (I know, giving up those Cheetos are hard) and increase the fruit and vegetables, your body will have little problem regulating the sodium. Say bye to water retention and hello to bananas!
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Female. 25 years old. Chinese. Cook. Foodie. UCLA grad. Traveler. Musician. Scuba diver. GWU Law. Runner.
Hey Jess i found this idk if its what you are looking for but thought i might share it with you.
“An essential note which should be observed by all readers, both bodybuilders and non-athletes, is that water consumption can help you overcome a lot of mistakes with sodium level manipulation. Unless you’re two days out form a show, you should always drink a gallon of water per day in order to ensure essential organ function, and that your body is able to flush out toxins and operate at maximum levels.”……..”The bottom line is that sodium is a good thing. But, as you may know, too much of a good thing can kill you.” Source