Reduce Your Sodium Intake to Reign in Health and Fitness! 7 Day Challenge!

The reasons why I want to do this challenge;

1.          To help women lose weight

2.          To help women lower blood pressure

3.          To help women reduce/eliminate bloating

4.       To help normalize kidney and digestive function

How does sodium affect weight gain?

Sodium doesn’t cause you to gain weight in the sense that it makes you gain fat because it has no calories. However too much sodium causes water retention which can make you look bigger and cause the numbers on the scale to rise.  Increased Sodium increases blood pressure which can cause hormonal imbalance which in turn also leads to weight gain. 

Sodium: Essential in small amounts

Your body needs some sodium to function properly because it:

• Helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body
• Helps transmit nerve impulses
• Influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles

Your kidneys naturally balance the amount of sodium stored in your body for optimal health. When your sodium levels are low, your kidneys essentially hold on to the sodium. When sodium levels are high, your kidneys excrete the excess in urine. 

But if for some reason your kidneys can't eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, which increases pressure in your arteries. Such diseases as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can make it hard for your kidneys to keep sodium levels balanced. 

Some people's bodies are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than are others. If you're sodium sensitive, you retain sodium more easily, leading to fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If this becomes chronic, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure. 

How much sodium should I ingest?

2300 mg. which is about 1 teaspoon.  If you have Hypertension, Kidney disease , diabetes are overweight ,  or African American  it is also suggested that you ingest not more than 1500mg.

Sodium is not the same as salt:

Salt is a chemical substance that is very reactive and is not found in nature.  Sodium actually undergoes spontaneous combustion in water. While sodium is essential for human nutrition, you don’t want to eat pure sodium! Salt contains sodium and chlorine ions which separates in the body to make the sodium available for use in the body.  

What are some of the things I can do to decrease my sodium content?

• Reduce your intake of processed foods. Most of these contain high amounts of sodium to preserve    the flavor
• READ food labels
•  Avoid using salt when cooking
•  Avoid adding salt to meals
•  Regular exercise and drinking plenty of water will aid in flushing excess sodium out of the system

What are the affects of a high sodium diet.

1.        Hypertension (high blood pressure)
2.        Stress on the cardiovascular system
3.        Digestive problems
4.        Kidney problems

One tablespoon (15 milliliters) of soy sauce, for example, has about 1,000 mg of sodium.

Taste alone may not tell you which foods are high in sodium. For example, you may not think a bagel tastes salty, but a typical 4-inch (10-centimeter) oat-bran bagel has about 532 mg of sodium, and even a slice of whole-wheat bread contains 132 mg of sodium.

So how can you tell which foods are high in sodium?

Read food labels. The Nutrition Facts label found on most packaged and processed foods lists the amount of sodium in each serving. It also lists whether the ingredients include salt or sodium-containing compounds, such as:

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Disodium phosphate
• Sodium alginate
• Sodium nitrate or nitrite

Assignment:

1.   Record the amount of sodium you ingest on a daily basis.
2. Go thru the cabinets and fridge at home and read the labels of condiments, cheese some of your favorite items.
3. Go to a restaurant (or look up one online) and read the sodium of some of the meals you would normally eat.
4. Check your blood pressure before getting started. Check it again after the challenge if your BP was 140/90 do the challenge again and repeat it until your BP falls below this number. Be sure to do the other things that I speak about in my weight loss course! If you have not participated in it you can sign up at http://www.shelitawilliams.com/Free_Weight_Loss_eCourse_AF.html
5. Share this info with someone who you know will benefit!

and remember, that not yesterday not tomorrow but right NOW is YOUR Time to Reign in Life!

I help aspiring and established women entrepreneurs who struggle with achieving their health and fitness goals, to lose weight, increase their energy, boost their confidence and increase their brand integrity so that they are poised, fit and motivated to start, manage and grow their business! For more info visit http://www.shelitawilliams.com and to get your Free gifts including your FREE Weight Loss eCourse! Subscribe to Shelita’s blog at http://www.shelitawilliams.blogspot.com Join us in our Facebook group for FREE Health and Fitness Tips!