Blood tests a reliable way to assess the body's level of sodium? & My situation concerning salt

[Can]

Are blood tests a reliable way to assess the body's level of sodium?

Looking back at the last few years retrospectively, I have been chronically depriving myself of salt in my diet (I was mostly making my own foods, cooking vegetables and eating fruits, had little processed foods and didn't salt my food much at all).

I am now trying to add some salt back into my diet, but I seem to react quite sensitively to it. Eating miniscule amounts, amounts that my mother for example tolerates as if it is nothing, have already triggered strong physical symptoms for me. Elevated blood pressure, feeling my heart uncomfortably strongly, feeling of pressure in veins and head, getting very jittery etc are among the symptoms if I ingest too much. And I already start to feel mild to severe symptoms when consuming barely 0.1 gs of salt (maybe sometimes less?), when eaten on its own. It's fine if I eat it within foods (like if I eat a few slices of cheese or bread I tolerate much more), but on its own or only mixed with one other ingredient, it can trigger symptoms at very low doses.

The thing is, in my blood tests, sodium was in optimal ranges. So I am wondering: Do blood tests depict sodium in the body accurately?

I started having salt cravings in the last few months (and start to have symptoms if I don't ingest salt as well), but also react strongly if I ingest a bit too much. If I have salt cravings and I eat the right amount, I can even feel the salt enter my body and it feels amazingly good! I really love the feeling of salt being absorbed, if I eat the right amount. It feels calming, reassuring and very relaxing. I suspect that my body is so used to running on little amounts of salt due to my previous low salt diet, which is why I can now feel salt so sensitively (I don't feel other specific nutrients being absorbed except for salt), so that even a bit too much in those situations, not bound to other foods that potentially slow the absorption, temporarily offsets the electrolyte balance which causes symptoms. Do you think that's possible? Any ideas?

 

[Gypsumking]

I think it's been shown that the body adjusts and regulates in relation to the average amount of salt it is receiving. That's why it's important to not increase or decrease your salt intake too fast.

I honestly think salt will be next thing you will hear Ray Peat really back track on the way he did with protein intake. I think your body adapts to high salt intake and it may have short term anti stress effects but I think in the long term the effect is net negative. I have had quite a high salt intake for a number of years and I believe it is at the heart of some of the inflammatory issues I have been dealing with. I am currently trying to wean myself lower on salt

I would say if you are trying to up your salt do it very slowly but also ask yourself if there is any need. Your body will adapt to the higher level and other compensatory measures by the body may have negative effect over time. There are so many examples of indigenous peoples who's salt intake was extremely low and who did very well

 

[yerrag]

Are blood tests a reliable way to assess the body's level of sodium?

I've thought about that. I don't think so.

It's one of those things. If you're inside the range, you're fine. If you're out, you're in trouble. Like people who run marathons and just drink water to replenish the water and electrolytes lost.

But maybe, if your blood sodium is in the lower limits, you have to extra careful making sure you drink electrolytes to replenish liquids during a marathon.

Certainly, sodium is a mineral that the body nèeds to the point that the body will want to retain sodium over say potassium. It will waste potassium in order to conserve sodium thru the action of aldosterone, a hormone.

As to why you're very sensitive to sodium intake, that is a question I don't think I've found a readily agreed upon answer to.

If that is your condition, it's right to be careful about taking it in large doses. That caution does not necessarily apply to all and is very contextual.

You have to spend time understanding your context and hopefully one day you can figure out the answers and you can share what you find out.

You're not going to find out though from most doctors and experts. You'll have to try to cultivate your own expertise on this.

 

[Can]

I think it's been shown that the body adjusts and regulates in relation to the average amount of salt it is receiving. That's why it's important to not increase or decrease your salt intake too fast.

I honestly think salt will be next thing you will hear Ray Peat really back track on the way he did with protein intake. I think your body adapts to high salt intake and it may have short term anti stress effects but I think in the long term the effect is net negative. I have had quite a high salt intake for a number of years and I believe it is at the heart of some of the inflammatory issues I have been dealing with. I am currently trying to wean myself lower on salt

I would say if you are trying to up your salt do it very slowly but also ask yourself if there is any need. Your body will adapt to the higher level and other compensatory measures by the body may have negative effect over time. There are so many examples of indigenous peoples who's salt intake was extremely low and who did very well

I don't want to increase my salt intake based on intellect (e. g. thinking that because I've heard good things about salt, I should up my intake), but based on experience - I had days when I would not eat any salt through my diet except for the little sodium found in natural foods like fruits and milk (so not a lot at all), and I would be able to tolerate that for some time, but at some point I would have accute symptoms after meals of feeling unwell and panicky, accompanied with the feeling that I need salt. I started developing somewhat of a neurotic relationship with salt, because on the one hand I felt like I needed it, but it would also trigger strong symptoms if I took a tiny bit too much, which made me want to avoid it in the next hours and days, until I felt like I needed it accutely again. Not a nice relationship to have with this essential substance.

Long story short, I found a way to up my salt intake, without having to fear symptoms of consuming too much: I eat foods that have salt already added to them like cheese and bread. They have sizeable amounts of salt and I can eat quite a bit of salt this way without having symptoms of ingesting too much. It feels like it gets absorbed much slower when compared to just adding pure salt to foods.

 

[Peatness]

It’s possible to have normal blood sodium levels yet have excess tissue sodium. See the work of Dr Jens Titze, someone posted some of his lectures on the forum some time back.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Titze%2C+Jens

 

[Can]

As to why you're very sensitive to sodium intake, that is a question I don't think I've found a readily agreed upon answer to.

If that is your condition, it's right to be careful about taking it in large doses. That caution does not necessarily apply to all and is very contextual.

You have to spend time understanding your context and hopefully one day you can figure out the answers and you can share what you find out.

You're not going to find out though from most doctors and experts. You'll have to try to cultivate your own expertise on this.

Beautifully said imo. One thing I have found out going to doctors over the last couple of months, is that they are not helpful in figuring out my context. I do appreciate the possibilities of Western medicine when it comes to emergency situations and the like, but when it comes to understanding my own health and my own 'context', doctors have revealed themselves as little to no help to me.

I will gladly share what I learn along my journey. Currently I am just happy that I can eat already salted foods (may it be cheese, bread, cornichons, salami, salted macadamia nuts etc.) without any problems, and so can use extra salt sparingly, and slowly work my way through the slight trauma I developed.

 

[Can]

It’s possible to have normal blood sodium levels yet have excess tissue sodium. See the work of Dr Jens Titze, someone posted some of his lectures on the forum some time back.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Titze%2C+Jens

Interesting, thanks for the info and the link. Makes sense that there is a difference between the amount of sodium in the blood and in the tissues.