5 THINGS BODYBUILDERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SODIUM
Some rules that apply to average people just don't fly for bodybuilders.
You might think sodium is bad for a bodybuilder because it causes water retention. Plus, no less than the Institute of Medicine and the American Heart Association tell you that the less salt and sodium you have in your diet, the better. Here’s the problem with accepting every report from mainstream media groups: they don’t take into account the needs of hardcore bodybuilders.
The IOM recommends 2,300 milligrams and the AHA recommends less than, 1,500 mg per day for people aged 19-50. Believe it or not, these recommendations could actually be dangerous. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that the National Dietary Guidelines suggested avoiding all fats. Even those from nuts and olives oil, a recommendation that’s since been reversed. Could they be making the same mistake with sodium? We think so.
SODIUM VS. SALT
Although often used interchangeably, sodium and salt are not the same thing. Technically speaking, salt is sodium attached to chloride, and salt is only about 40% sodium. The sodium ion, which is positively charged, is critical to our survival. Along with potassium, sodium is responsible for allowing an electrostatic charge to build on cell membranes, such as nerve cells and muscle cells, which is basically how nerve impulses are generated and muscles contract. Without adequate sodium intake, our nerves and muscles would not work properly.
SODIUM AND H2O
Sodium also maintains our body’s water level. The body is made up of approximately 60% water, so it’s easy to see why this function would be important. Sodium is especially critical for maintaining blood volume (how much water your blood is composed of) and helping the kidneys determine how much water to excrete and how much water to hold in the body.
It’s true that taking in too much sodium can cause serious health consequences like high blood pressure, but that’s only in certain individuals (e.g., those with kidney issues or with a history of blood pressure issues). For the rest of us, getting in higher amounts of sodium just means our body will readily get rid of what it doesn’t need via urine and sweat.
BLOATED TRUTH | If you’re worried about looking bloated from a diet higher in sodium, don’t be. Remember that your body’s water levels are tightly regulated. Although short periods of high sodium intake will make you retain more water and short periods of low sodium intake will cause you to hold less water, you’ll retain the same amount of water over the long run, whether you follow a higher-sodium diet or a lower-sodium diet because your body will work to maintain a certain level of water. However, by eating a higher-sodium diet now, you not only gain the health and muscle-building benefits of sodium but also make it that much easier to drop water when you want to cut sodium for a short period to peak for a contest, photo shoot or day at the beach.
HARDWIRED
We humans may have acquired a taste for “salty” in the first place so we would seek out foods that contain sodium. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, believe that the brain regulates sodium appetite so that people consume a set optimal daily level of it. They’ve published research from more than 30 countries showing that sodium intake is about the same throughout, despite wide differences in diet and culture. Research shows that even though most Americans are eating more food today — and more processed food, at that — they still consume about the same amount of sodium as they have in previous decades.
BODY WORKS | Levels of sodium and water in your body are closely related and carefully regulated because sodium draws water to it. So wherever sodium is, water follows. It works something like this:
- If your body is holding too much fluid, your kidneys pull it out of your bloodstream and excrete it as urine.
- If your body has too little fluid, your kidneys will pull less fluid out and you won’t pee as much.
- If you ingest large amounts of sodium, fluid is pulled out of the body’s tissues and into the bloodstream to dilute sodium levels. This fluid increases blood volume, which leads to a rise in blood pressure. However, if your kidneys are functioning properly, they’ll react to an increase in bloodstream fluid and bump up urine output (excreting both sodium and water) to reduce blood volume fluid levels.
- Only if your kidneys aren’t working well will you maintain that increased blood volume longer and therefore experience higher blood pressure. This can put greater demand on your heart, since the more fluid the heart has to move around your body, the harder it has to work. Chronically elevated blood pressure can eventually lead to organ damage, heart attacks, strokes, kidney problems, memory loss and erectile dysfunction. This is why the IOM and the AHA recommend that everyone drop their sodium intake to extremely low levels. Although a low-sodium diet may be essential for those who have kidney problems or a history of high blood pressure, it can actually be unhealthy for others.
