The Benefits of Sodium

8 Comments

1. 

   jb

   May 1 2021 at 6:20 pm

   Is it pretty normal to feel a bit bloated from increasing sodium initially, especially if you have been taking in too little for a while? I would assume fluids would redistribute and urine/sweat output would increase as your body adjusts over a week or two?

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2. 

   Scott Hayes

   May 3 2021 at 5:39 pm

   Absolutely, it was around three days for me but it's going to be dependent upon if you increase your fluid intake as well as potassium. This is another benefit of increasing sodium, being able to increase potassium along with it. A healthy balance of sodium and potassium is crucial. Adding salt to bitter greens (high in potassium) is one way to achieve this as well as make them more palatable. There are a lot of things that can lead to bloating and water retention, such as aldosterone and even high cortisol levels from too much stress (physical or mental. Unfortunately, I think people tend to get a little freaked out when they increase their salt intake for the reason you mentioned. But, in my experience it will even out as long as it accompanies the proper fluid intake as well as other minerals. Here is a great in-depth article on the subject:
   
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409798/
   
   Scott

   Reply ↓
3. 

   Jb

   May 11 2021 at 6:33 am

   Thanks!

   Reply ↓
4. 

   Brian

   May 20 2021 at 10:51 am

   Scott,
   
   I have kind of dumb question - I have added large amounts of salt (presently, about 8 grams) to my daily "healthy" shake. I also add a gram or 2 to other food throughout the day. I have noticed that my face does not get nearly as bloated as it does after a day of eating fast food. Sometimes, I don't even look like the same person the day after eating half a pizza. Is there really that much sodium in fast food, or is there some other substance in it that is causing this bloating?
   
   Thanks,
   Brian

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5. 

   Scott Hayes

   May 20 2021 at 12:12 pm

   Hi Brian,
   
   In this case, it sounds like the result of the (presumably) higher than normal carb intake. Being that 1 gram of stored glycogen brings along 3.5 grams of water with it, you can see where this could lead to some bloating. Now if it was a case of carbs being equal, I would lean towards attributing it to the possible MSG content in the fast food (some places still use it). But it doesn't sound like that is the case as it would be pretty difficult to cram the amount of carbs in half of a pizza into a shake, although I'm sue it's been attempted, haha.
   
   Take care,
   Scott

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6. 

   Brian

   May 24 2021 at 10:43 am

   Thank you Scott!

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   1. 

      Izaac

      September 28 2022 at 10:50 pm

      Does the bloating in the face and the stomach eventually go away?

      Reply ↓
7. 

   Hauren

   January 24 2024 at 8:12 pm

   Is Salt bad for the kidneys? What about compromised kidneys?

   Reply ↓

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