The Minerals: Sodium

The Kaufmann Diet is all about using nutrition as a powerful tool to support good health, prevent disease, and sometimes even reverse diseases. In this series, we break down the components of nutrition into their specific parts, and discuss how they can support––and sometimes hinder––our health. The third part of this series covers minerals, what they are, how they fit into your Kaufmann Diet, and the best sources of these nutrients. 

Sodium is a mineral that is important for human health. The most common source of sodium in the diet is sodium chloride, or table salt, which most people are well aware of. Sodium plays some key physiological roles in the body:

• Fluid Balance: Sodium is a major electrolyte in the body’s fluids, including blood and interstitial fluid (the fluid between cells). It helps regulate total body water and the distribution of fluids across cell membranes. Proper fluid balance is vital for cellular function and overall bodily health.
• Nerve Function: Sodium ions are critical for the generation and transmission of electrical signals in the nervous system. These electrical signals, or action potentials, are essential for nerve communication. Sodium’s movement in and out of nerve cells is what initiates and transmits these signals, enabling functions such as muscle contractions and sensory processing.
• Muscle Function: Sodium is important for muscle contraction. The flow of sodium and other electrolytes into and out of muscle cells helps trigger and regulate contractions, which is necessary for all movements and heart function.
• Blood Pressure Regulation: Sodium levels can significantly affect blood volume and blood pressure. The kidneys help control blood pressure by adjusting the concentration of sodium and the volume of water retained or excreted.
• Acid-Base Balance: Sodium is involved in maintaining the acid-base balance within the body through its role in various buffer systems and its interaction with other electrolytes.

Because of all of these important things sodium does in the body, it is vital to get enough sodium. The problem with sodium for most people, however, is not getting too little of it in the diet; it is getting far too much. 

Sodium is present in very high amounts in most processed foods; and, if you are regularly going out to eat at restaurants or eating fast food, you are almost certainly consuming far more sodium than is recommended. 

Regularly getting too much sodium in your diet is associated with problems like high blood pressure and heart disease. To combat this, you are recommended to monitor your daily intake of sodium. The recommended amount of sodium you should get in your diet is around 2,300mg per day, although depending on climate and level of physical activity, some people may require more to replenish what is lost through sweating. 

On The Kaufmann Diet, there aren’t generally any recommended amounts of sodium, but there is one important factor to consider; many of the processed foods which contain high amounts of sodium are generally eliminated from the diet. So, the risk of over-consuming sodium on The Kaufmann Diet becomes greatly diminished when compared to the standard American Diet. If anything, you’ll want to make sure you get enough sodium, particularly if you are very active and sweat a lot. 

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