The Truth About SALT... Is Sodium Really Bad For You?

Salt is NOT the "Bad Guy". Learn how eating salt can improve your health and fitness.

Did you know that salt is essential to life?

In fact, no other mineral is more essential to human survival than sodium because it allows nerves to send and receive electrical impulses, it allows your cells and brain to function, and it allows your muscles to contract.

Bottom Line, without enough salt in your body you could not live... It's that important!

The average person eats about 3,400 mg of sodium per day. This is according to The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Now you've probably heard through the mainstream media that this is "Too Much" and that you should reduce your salt intake. But these recommendations are based on outdated sodium research that was performed on rats back in the 1970's.

According to new studies the opposite maybe true and the national average salt intake may actually be on the "low side" of the healthy sodium intake range.

New research shows that most people are already eating within the safe range of sodium consumption and population-wide sodium reduction strategies are unnecessary and could be harmful.

The study found that the healthy range for sodium consumption was between 3,000 and 6,000 mg per day.

The shocking part of this study was that eating less than 3,000 mg per day was significantly more harmful to your health than consuming over 6,000 mg per day!

(NOTE: consuming too little sodium is MORE harmful than too much!)

The amount of salt that you need to consume per day will vary greatly depending on your lifestyle. The mainstream media suggestions for everyone to consume a "low sodium" diet is very ignorant and potentially dangerous.

For example...
Hard training athletes who sweat a lot during their workouts are going to lose a lot more sodium compared to the average person who does not exercise.

It doesn't make much sense to recommend that everyone, regardless of activity and lifestyle, consume the same sodium intake.

In the case of high level athletes, consuming too little sodium can even be fatal. This is known as Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia where the blood sodium levels get diluted from drinking a lot of water without replenishing sodium levels.

Adequate sodium intake is necessary for nerves, muscles, and other body tissues to function properly. Without enough sodium in the body severe neurological problems can occur.

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Below you'll find links to several articles that explain how consuming a higher sodium intake is actually good for your health and fitness.

It's Time to End the War on Salt...

Hyponatremia - Dangerously Low Sodium Levels...

Exercise Associated Hyponatremia…

Low Salt Intake Can Actually Harm Your Health…

Dangers Of A Low Salt Diet…

Low Blood Sodium (Hyponatremia)…

Low Sodium Side Effects…

NYC Health Department wrong on sodium warnings…

[pablo]

Your comment about most athletes having a very low sodium intake I can understand . Especially if your on a diet eating very very cleanly it is surprisingly easy to find you can be eating virtually no salt. And training and sweating at the same time, not good. Very true and good video

[Mvanrossum]

Thanks Lee glad you make these videos! Makes us stop fearing what can actually benefit us! Share the Knowledge Coach!👏💪

[luisge]

salt gave me the results i have always tought creatine will make for me, thanks lee i was on a stupid low sodium diet and i was always feeling weak

[shannonphillips]

Eating super clean and very low salt, as talked about in the video, put me in the doctor's office with abnormally high blood pressure with bad brain fog. it took me a few weeks to figure it out it was due to low salt. I was probably borderline low for years, the healthier I ate and the more I worked out. I now track salt like I do cals.

[scottconklin]

I just started taking 3/4of a tsp.of sea salt pre workout and I've noticed a tremendous diffrence.Great pumps with no cramps.Ty

[billskinsth]

Spot on Lee,
Just recently discovered my gains were suffering from not enough sodium.
I've added Atlantic sea salt to every other meal and now I'm back on track!

[nithinnayak_]

Glad I found your channel Lee. The information you provide is spot on.

[jackhammer]

i went into a sodium deficit i know exactly what what he explains in this video i cant stand gatorade cause it has dyes, sugars and not enough water

[PierreDen]

If you up your sodium intake, ensure you consume lots of potassium too. Sodium and potassium balance each others.

[jschultzf]

Sodium is CRITICAL for performance! If you're an athlete, training at a high level, then sodium is important because they're losing so much like you said #truth

[Jetsrockful]

Wow if only I had seen this sooner... Thank you lee! I've been eating such low sodium in my diet and felt really weak even though I was not in a deficit..even worse every time I ate a "higher" amount of salt by fitting pizza opand whatnot into my macros I retained a TON of water and looked terrible. :(

[pelgrin]

I want to add is important to consume the iodinezed salt as well it don't cost that much more I use both to get that nutrient

[theresalives]

If you’ve ever had pedialyte, which is used to replenish your electrolytes when you’re dehydrated, you will notice there is an unbelievable amount of sodium! That confused me at first because I always thought salt DEhydrated you… which it will if you aren’t drinking enough water, but the combo of moderate sodium intake, plenty of water, and an active lifestyle is key! I have used peripatetic many times to recover from a night of drinking or a weekend traveling and it always replenishes me & helps keep me from getting sick!

[kingofkorma]

Really whenever we swet we loose sodium. So its a very informating video. I appriciate.

[Thurgor_Supreme]

This actually makes a lot of sense. A year ago I lifted my ass off, ate a bunch of crap, and got strong as hell. Then I fell off the wagon, stopped working out for a while, and came back weak as fuck. I thought I lost like 10-15 lbs of muscle mass, but maybe it's that I cleaned up the hell out of my diet and started doing a lot more cardio instead.

[JCV]

Just perfect information Lee! Easy for everyone to understand. I've never seen any bullshit on your channel, please keep it that way ;)

[leonherringjr]

The reason why I disagree about adding" extra" salt to your diet is that you have a lot of people out here that are desparate to make any kinds of gains and start sucking down salt like no tomorrow. They call high blood pressure the"silent killer", you might have high blood pressure and don't know it. How much sodium should you take ? Is taking a sodium supplement worth the gains? We get way more than enough of sodium in our daily diet. This is only my opinion..you can do whatever you want to do !!

[AussieAngeS]

Great video Lee I agree with what you say here. What if you're sensitive to salt intake and retain water when consuming it? I tend to only add Himalayan pink sea salt after I train because salt hates me, not the other way round LOL.

[Darkokerber]

how much is the recommended daily dose for someone who sweats a lot?

[robraider]

Great info Lee! Much appreciated. How do u feel about salt that contains iodine vs salt that doesn't? Is there any comparison in regards to one is more beneficial for micronutrition than the other?