What’s going on, guys. Sean Nalewanyj here at www.SeanNal.com-www.BodyTransformationTruth.com
and in this video I want to give a simplified explanation on the issue of sodium intake
as it relates to water retention and bloating, as well as to overall health. A lot of people asked about this mainly because
they want to minimize subcutaneous water retention, so the amount of water that stored directly
beneath the skin because doing that will increase visible muscle definition and give you, sort
of leaner, drier look as opposed to looking soft and more bloated. And on top of that if you’re involved in
bodybuilding and fitness then you probably reasonably health conscious as well and we’ve
all heard all kinds of things about how sodium increases blood pressure and leads to hypertension,
so a lot of people are confused on that as well.
So the first thing to understand is that sodium
itself is not inherently bad, it’s actually critical for your health for a variety of
reasons and the goal is not to minimize sodium intake or to somehow eliminate it. I don’t recommend going to extremes, but
the problem isn’t necessarily the objective amount of sodium in your diet but instead
what you need to look out for is: number one, the ratio of sodium to potassium that you’re
consuming and number two, the consistency of your sodium intake from day to day. These are the things that can cause excessive
water retention and potential negative health effects. So first off as a general guideline you want
to be consuming about as much potassium as sodium in your diet, about 1:1 ratio, and
the average person in the West takes in significantly more sodium than potassium each day and potassium
intake is actually one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in the Western diet. [no audio] Now it’s not going to be practical
for most people to go through and track exactly how much sodium and how much potassium they’re
consuming, so instead I would recommend just taking some basic steps to keep your sodium
intake reasonably under control while at the same time making an effort to get in foods
that are high in potassium in order to make sure that ratio is decently balanced.
In terms of controlling sodium you’re looking
at basic things like moderating your intake of canned and pre-package types of foods,
not going overboard on high sodium fast food types of meals, not excessively salting your
food or using too many high sodium sauce or dressings, things like that. And then in terms of increasing potassium
intake I’ll put a list of food on the screen here, just to show you some examples of potassium
rich foods and you can just paused the video to check that out. [no audio] Now again, because it’s probably
more so, the ratio between sodium and potassium that is important, if you’re already taking
in, or you’re already getting a lot of potassium rich foods in your diet then the fact that
maybe you do consume a decent amount of sodium as well that might not be an issue, but I’m
just speaking in general here because the average person does consume a lot more sodium
then potassium, so it is something to take a look at in order to see what sort of ratio
you might be dealing with.
The second thing to consider here if you’re
trying to keep water retention and bloating under control is the consistency of your sodium
intake from day to day. I’m sure most people have had that experience
where your sodium intake is reasonably consistent and then you go out and eat a particularly
big meal or two that are really high in sodium, and then the next day you noticed that you
have, sort of that soft and bloated look, or the opposite can happen too, even though
most people think that minimizing their sodium intake is going to reduce water retention,
going from moderate or high sodium intake straight to a low sodium intake, that can
have the same effect as well, and can actually increase water retention and bloating.
Without going into detail this is basically
caused by changes in your body’s levels of aldosterone, which is a hormone that regulates
water balance. Now short term fluctuations in sodium intake
are obviously normal and it’s really not a big deal because once you go back to your
normal diet it will balanced itself out, but if you do want to keep water retention controlled
from day to day, or if you want to avoid looking bloated for a certain occasion, that’s just
something to be aware of and try to keep your sodium intake reasonably consistent in the
big picture, don’t suddenly increase it and don’t suddenly decrease it.
So bottom line in all of this, sodium itself
is not evil, you don’t need to minimize sodium intake and it’s really just about
basic balance and moderation in the big picture, and you can achieve that by keeping your sodium
to potassium ratio balanced, either by reducing your sodium intake if it’s particularly
high or by increasing your intake of potassium, or through a combination of both.
And in the second thing is by keeping you
sodium intake reasonably balanced from day to day rather than allowing for big up and
down fluctuations. That’s really all there is to it. So I hope this was helpful. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram if you aren’t already. You can grab my complete Body Transformation
Blueprint that provides all of the training and nutrition information you need to reach
your fitness goals as effectively as possible by clicking here, or by using the link in
the description box.
The official website is www.SeanNal.com and
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date. Talk to you guys again soon..
