Sodium Deficiency
Recommended Daily Allowance of Sodium
The recommended daily allowance was established by the food and nutrition board, and is used for the general term of reference for a healthy diet. These guidelines include the average daily intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%-98%) healthy individuals. The adequate intake established when evidence is insufficient to develop and recommended daily allowance, but is still set to allow for a person to get nutritional adequacy.
The adequate intake of Sodium, according to the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of National Academies is the following: age zero to six months male 120 mg per day, age zero to six months female 120 mg per day, age seven months to one year male 200 mg per day, age seven months to one year female 200 mg per day, age one year male 225 mg per day, age one year female 225 mg per day, age two years to five years male 300 mg per day, age two years to five years female 300 mg per day, age six years to nine years male 400 mg per day, age six years to nine years female 400 mg per day, age ten years to eighteen years male 500 mg per day, age ten years to eighteen years female 500 mg per day, age nineteen and older male 1,500 mg per day, and age nineteen and older female 1,500 mg per day.
There has also been an upper intake established for sodium, age nineteen and older, male and female 2,300 mg per day.
Sodium Deficiency
The lack of sodium in a diet is very rare. The disorder which occurs as a result of a lack of sodium is hyponatremia. When this disorder occurs there will be a shifting of water into the brain cells. Normal symptoms which accompany hyponatremia are nausea, vomiting, headache, and malaise. In some extreme cases there can even be death. Normally hyponatremia occurs in people who are suffering from an additional disorder. The average diet of salt in the United State is very high, actually averaging over the upper intake recommended by health professionals.
Sodium Toxicity
Sodium Toxicity is actually a much more severe problem in the United States than sodium deficiency. The average American is eating far more sodium than they should in their diet. The average American male diet of sodium is actually more than the upper limit recommendation of sodium by health professionals. This increase in the sodium of the average American’s diet has a large part to do with the increased use of processed and fast foods in diets. Hypertension is the biggest problem which occurs due to sodium toxicity.
Studies have linked hypertension with cardiovascular disease—which is one of the deadliest diseases in America. Health professionals are predicting rises in the number of heart related deaths as a result of the increased amounts of sodium in Americas diet.
When to Get a Little Extra Sodium
Is there ever a time when a person should be concerned about not getting enough sodium in their diet? Yes. There are times when the supplementation of sodium is not only needed, but it would be very detrimental for a person’s safety not to have additional sodium. Sodium is one of the essential elements for humans to survive. If a person is deprived of sodium it can lead to many health problems, the worst of which is an eventual death.
Athletes, or those people working out at a high level, are in need of replacing the sodium their bodies lose through perspiration. A common side effect of not having enough salt in a person’s system is body weakness, headaches, and muscle cramps. All side effects a person wouldn’t want while training, nor would they want to experience any of these symptoms when they are participating in a sporting event.
Finding a product with the right amount of sodium is the key to overall health. Many body building and training supplements will contain large amounts of sodium. This high concentration of sodium will have a very negative effect on any person who is using them to train. This excessive amount of sodium will lead to the body retaining high amounts of water. While this might have a very positive short term gain of adding mass to a person’s body, it will have a very negative long term effect. A great way to supplement your diet and get the proper amount of sodium is through a healthy meal replacement
When a person adds mass to their body through sodium and water retention it is only a short term gain. A person must continue to take the supplement which is high in sodium in order to continue gaining the desired results of greater mass. In addition, a person will experience a phenomenon known as “water muscles.” Instead of having hard sculpted muscles a person will have larger, undefined, soft muscles. For a majority of those participating in weight lifting water muscles are less than desirable.
While too much sodium in a muscle building supplement can be very detrimental, not having any sodium will not rejuvenate the body and allow a person to continue to work out at a high level. When looking for a product like Creatine and other muscle mass supplements it is important to make sure there is a good amount of sodium, but not so much that a person will simple gain mass through the retention of water. This is especially important for women who are looking to strength train. Studies have shown that excessive amounts of sodium will cause when to pass calcium through their urinary system. This is very counterproductive to a woman’s long term health, because a woman needs as much calcium in her system as possible to prevent the possibility of the loss of bone mass later in life. So remember that a fantastic way to supplement your diet and get the proper amount of sodium is through a healthy meal replacement
When looking for any health supplement, it is important to do research. One of the first items a person should find out is how much sodium a supplement contains. If a person should have any questions they should contact their medical professional before starting to take any new supplement.
