QuestionI am 27 years old in pretty good health. I weigh 120 lbs and am 5'6". I've been trying to watch my sodium intake, though I have not been told that I need to do so. My goal has been to stay under 1,500 mg of sodium a day, but still find that difficult. I estimate my daily sodium intake between 1,800 and 2,000 mg/day. I recently read an article that said it's really not about the sodium intake, but rather the differential between potassium and sodium. Is this true and do you have any advice? Thanks.
AnswerWhen it comes to salt intake reading the label is key.Stay away from frozen and highly processed foods. Eat more vegetables and fruits.Watch how the foods you eat are being seasoned.
Sodium and potassium are salt molecules (or ions) found throughout the body. Cells pump extra potassium into their interiors, and pump extra sodium out to the surrounding fluid. Electrical impulses in neurons are created when these ions are allowed to return to their original locations by passing rapidly through channels in nerve cells' outer membranes. Nerve cells possess wire-like extensions, called axons, which initiate these impulses and carry them from one cell to the next.
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