The RDA (recommended daily allowance) for sodium is 2400 mg (based on a 2,000 calorie diet). For a bigger guy like me who eats 3,000 calories, that would be the equivalent of 3600 mg. However, I found that most of the time I came in above that. I averaged about 4,000-4,500 mg of sodium per day the whole time I followed my 1900 calorie fat shredder and 3,000 calorie balanced diet.
So, is that okay? Are there risks I was taking by having that much sodium? Well, it depends. I can’t tell any of you how much sodium is okay for you because each of our bodies are different, and sodium is both a necessary part of our diet (our bodies NEED some), but it can also exacerbate any tendencies we have toward heart disease and high blood pressure if we take in too much.
Sodium and Exercise
First, as a rule of thumb, we need to consider that the RDA is based on the AVERAGE American. The average American is lazy and gets nearly no exercise. We are doing intense exercise for an hour every day and sweating our tails off! We are losing a lot of sodium through perspiration that the average American isn’t. Thus, it’s okay in my opinion if we consume more sodium than the average American. But how much more? I’ll get to that in a minute.
Steve Edward’s blogged on this recently at his blog, The Straight Dope. Writing, “Salt is even more important and less understood. Most of us consume far too much of it but, oddly enough, the inverse is a big problem in healthy populations who can be too strict about limiting it. Salt is absolutely vital for life on any level but the more active you are the more you need. 500mg a day is enough for an average sedentary person but a cyclist racing on a 100-degree day can burn through 2,000mg in an hour! Those who eschew all salt find themselves at risk for hyponatremia, an electrolyte imbalance that will kill you swifter that a bite from a black mamba. There’s a good reason salt has been the catalyst of many wars throughout history.”
Second, evaluate your personal risk factors. I monitored my blood work and blood pressure to be sure I was staying healthy and not fueling any sort of long term heart problems. Part of doing all of this is to be healthy for life, and any of you with a family or personal history of heart disease or high blood pressure are simply going to have to watch your sodium closer than I do. I don’t have a family history, and even when I was fat my blood pressure was within normal limits. I can get away with going higher on sodium and not have any blood pressure concerns. That may not be the case with you, so be smart!
Your Daily Need for Sodium
So, how much sodium can we / should we target while doing a workout program like Power 90, P90X or Insanity? Well, like I said there are many factors. The lower the better, but we all have different levels of risk. When in doubt, get checked by a doctor for your peace of mind. I know that it was a great comfort to me the first time I got my bloodwork done after about 5 months of doing P90X and eating a very rigid, high protein diet with about 4,000 – 4,500mg of sodium per day. I was nervous that something would be way out of whack, but it wasn’t. That doesn’t mean I have nothing to worry about though. I need to get checked periodically to be sure I’m staying on track. You should do the same!
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My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
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