Sugar is often the 'go to' blame when it comes to weight gain, but is there another mineral that has been overlooked?
A high sodium diet can not only lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, but it can also be a major player in weight gain.
Do you ever wake up feeling bloated? Are you hitting your training goals, but still not losing much weight?
Our body relies on electrolytes such as sodium and potassium to perform everyday bodily functions. A high concentration of electrolytes in our blood triggers our thirst mechanism, causing us to consume adequate amounts of water to return to the proper concentration of electrolytes. Therefore, if we overconsume on salt, we will retain excess water.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has set an 'Adequate Intake' of 460-920 mg of sodium per day, and a 'Suggested Dietary Target' of 1000-1600 mg/day. This equates to less than half a teaspoon of table salt. Most Australian adults however currently have a daily salt intake of about 8-10 grams (2 teaspoons).
Whilst this doesn't sound like a huge excess, when you take into account that it takes 4 molecules of water to balance every molecule of sodium that extra water quickly adds up.
So how do we reduce our salt intake?
- Use products that contain <120mg sodium/100g
- Avoid adding extra salt when cooking (all of those pinches add up!)
- Avoid the 4 Ps: processed, packaged, pre-made, preservatives
- Fresh is always best!
- Add lemon juice to you morning glass of water
- Add fresh asparagus to your food plan
*When using salt, be sure to use Himalayan pink rock salt as it has an extra 80 minerals and retains only 1 molecule of water compared to table salt which retains 4 molecules.
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
