SODIUM REVISITED:
We all know that diet high in sodium is
extremely dangerous in the long run. On a previous article though I encouraged
athletes to add a little of salt in their diet. Generally athletes are the most
attracted to follow healthy tips, but sometime those are meant for the
unhealthy life style of many Americans that eat up to 10 gr. of sodium a day in
their diet and a reduction is more than welcome. Sodium is not a venom. Sodium
plays vital roles in body functions and is
essential to keep your muscle. A low sodium diet tend to cause a decrease on
muscle mass too. Our body especially if you workout, lose sodium and a low
blood sodium increase the production of the system known as
Renin-angiotensin-Aldosterone to absorb sodium from urine. Unfortunatly
Aldosterone if activated causes a muscle loss and is something an athlete
doesn’t want. Angiotensin II also reacts with muscle receptors and causes
muscle protein breakdown blocking the anabolic process by increasing Myostatin.
Obviously if you suffer hypertension is better fewer muscle, but if you don’t
have any health problems and you workout be careful not to reduce sodium intake
too much. The level of sodium should stay between 3-6 gr per day depends the
amount of muscle and lean body mass you have and the kind of nutrition you
follow. Remember sodium is essential to absorb proteins, don’t vanish your
nutrients because you think that sodium is mortal. The truth is always in the
right equilibrium of elements and not the ortoressic take of a study.
