Why do we need sodium and how do we know how much sodium to consume?
Sodium helps maintain the fluid volume in our blood cells, regulates blood pressure and helps maintain a pH balance. Sodium is used to transmit information in our nerves and muscles to maintain uptake of certain nutrients from our small intestines. website
The daily dose of sodium is as follows.
- 1-3 years 1.0g per day (1000mg)
- 4-8 years 1.2 per day (1200mg)
- 9-50 years 1.5g per day (1500mg)
- 51-70 years 1.3g per day (1300mg)
- 71+ years 1.2g per day (1200mg)
Ultra-endurance athletes can lose 1-2g of salt per liter of sweat at one time. Just imagine if you are running a 6-hour race. They are sweating out huge amounts of sodium and need to replenish their body fast! website
” American dietary practices cause the average person to carry 8000 mg. Excess sodium in the extracellular tissues. During endurance events, 3-4 hours are necessary to deplete the “excess” of this mineral. Deficiency may begin to occur after 4 hours, which may produce symptoms of abnormal heartbeat, muscle twitching, and hypoventilation. However, if sodium is replaced at the same rate as depletion it overrides all the mechanisms involving Aldosterone, a hormone that causes the body to conserve electrolytes… We highly recommend the use of 120-240 mg/hr of sodium against a rate of loss ranging from 1800-3500 mg. per hour.”
Tomorrow more benefits on sodium for our body. WEBSITE