SODIUM REVISITED FOR ATHLETES

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.