High and Low Sodium

High Sodium:

Sodium is an electrolyte that is located predominantly in extracellular fluids.

It attracts water and a high-sodium diet directs water into the bloodstream, which increases the volume of the blood, and over time increases blood pressure. High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) forces the heart to work harder and can damage blood vessels and organs, which increases your risk of heart disease, kidney disease and stroke.

Since blood pressure normally increases with age, limiting sodium intake is more important every year. The good news is that eating less sodium can often help lower blood pressure to normal parameters, which in turn can help reduce the risk of developing these serious medical conditions.

High blood pressure affects about one in three American adults, or 75 million people. Another 78 million adults suffer from slightly elevated blood pressure, which can develop into high blood pressure. Heart disease is the leading cause of death, and stroke is the fourth leading cause of
death for men and women in the United States.

Source: F.D.A. “Sodium in Your Diet.” U S Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Sodium deficiency:

Since sodium is an essential mineral, It plays a very important roll maintaining blood pressure in the body, as well as, the function of muscles, nerves and other tissues. If the amount of sodium in the extracellular fluid reaches levels below normal it moves water to balance its levels, which leads to excessive swelling of the cells. The cells in the brain are particularly sensitive to this effects, and causes many of the symptoms related to low sodium such as: Confusion, irritability, restlessness, Seizures, Fatigue, Headache, Inappetence, Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, Nausea and vomiting.

In severe cases it can cause: Decreased consciousness, hallucinations or coma, Brain hernia and Death.

Source: Dineen R, Hannon MJ, Thompson CJ. Hyponatremia and hypernatremia. In: Jameson JL, De Groot LJ, de Kretser DM, et al, eds. Endocrinology: Adult and Pediatric. 7th ed., 2016.

 

High and Low Saturated Fat 

Saturated fats are fat molecules that have no double bonds between carbon molecules because they are saturated with hydrogen molecules.  The majority of saturated fat comes from animal products such as beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin, butter, cream, cheese and other dairy products made from while or 2 percent milk.  All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends aiming for a dietary pattern that achieves 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fat. For example, if you need about 2,000 calories a day, no more than 120 of them should come from saturated fat.  Furthermore, the American Heart Association recommends about 13 grams of saturated fat per day. Too much saturated fat may cause “bad” cholesterol and increase the risk for heart disease.

Main Consequences of Consuming Too Much Saturated Fat

  • High Cholesterol
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Risk of Heart Disease


Helpful Tips

  • Eat a dietary pattern that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish and nuts. Also limit red meat and sugary foods and beverages.
  • Use naturally occurring non hydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil most often
  • Look for processed foods made with unhydrogenated oil rather than partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils or saturated fat
  • Use soft margarine as a substitute for butter, and choose soft margarines (liquid or tub varieties) over harder stick forms. Look for “0 g trans fat” on the Nutrition Facts label
  • Limit commercially fried foods and baked goods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These foods are very high in fat, and it’s likely to be trans fat
  • Limit fried fast food. Commercial shortening and deep-frying fats are still made by hydrogenation and contain saturated fat and trans fat
  • Read all nutrition labels
  • Maintain a food diary to track your eating habits- http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/WeightManagement/LosingWeight/Food-Diary—How-to-Keep-Track-of-What-You-Eat_UCM_320180_Article.jsp#.WvyymtMvzdQ

Recommended Readings

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cunymain/detail.action?docID=661755
https://search-proquest-com.central.ezproxy.cuny.edu/docview/1902028322?accountid=26979&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo


Eating Plans

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/MakeChangesThatMatter/Managing-Blood-Pressure-with-a-Heart-Healthy-Diet_UCM_301879_Article.jsp#.WvyxVtMvzdQ

http://cdn.naturallifeenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sebi-guide.jpg


References
Manger, and Manger, William Muir. The DASH Diet to End Obesity : The Best Plan to Prevent Hypertension and Type-2 Diabetes and Reduce Excess Weight. 2013. Print.

Brewer, Sarah, and Molly Siple. Low-Cholesterol Cookbook for Dummies. Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2011. Web. “Dr. Sebi Nutritional Guide – Mucus Reducing Alkaline Diet.” Alkaline Plant Based Diet, Natural Life Energy LLC , 17 Apr. 2018, www.naturallifeenergy.com/alkaline-producing-mucus-reducing-nutrional-guide/.

“Food Diary – How to Keep Track of What You Eat.” How Cigarettes Damage Your Body, The American Heart Association, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/WeightManagement/LosingWeight/Food-Diary—How-to-Keep-Track-of-What-You-Eat_UCM_320180_Article.jsp#.WvyymtMvzdQ.

“HDL (Good), LDL (Bad) Cholesterol and Triglycerides.” How Cigarettes Damage Your Body, The American Heart Association, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/HDLLDLTriglycerides/HDL-Good-LDL-Bad-Cholesterol-and-Triglycerides_UCM_305561_Article.jsp#.WvyzIdMvzdQ.

“Managing Blood Pressure with a Heart-Healthy Diet.” How Cigarettes Damage Your Body, The American Heart Association, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/MakeChangesThatMatter/Managing-Blood-Pressure-with-a-Heart-Healthy-Diet_UCM_301879_Article.jsp#.WvyxVtMvzdQ.

“Saturated Fat.” American Heart Association, The American Heart Association, www.healthyforgood.heart.org/eat-smart/articles/saturated-fats.

“Saturated Fats.” How Cigarettes Damage Your Body, The American Heart Association, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp.

“The Skinny on Fats.” How Cigarettes Damage Your Body, The American Heart Association, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/PreventionTreatmentofHighCholesterol/Know-Your-Fats_UCM_305628_Article.jsp#.WvyyzNMvzdR.

 

High and Low Cholesterol

What exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol travels in the blood in the form of lipoproteins, which are tiny molecules of fat wrapped in protein.

Two major types of cholesterol:

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL): “bad” cholesterol

High-density lipoprotein (HDL): “good” cholesterol

 

What are the symptoms of high cholesterol?

High cholesterol typically doesn’t cause any symptoms. In most cases it only causes emergency events. For instance, a heart attack or stroke can result from the damage caused by high cholesterol.

Symptoms of low cholesterol

  • hopelessness
  • nervousness
  • confusion
  • agitation
  • difficulty making a decision
  • changes in your mood, sleep, or eating patterns

Causes of High Cholesterol

Over consumption of:

  • Fatty meat and meat products such as sausages.
  • Full fat cheese,
  • Milk,
  • Cream and yogurt.
  • Coconut and palm oils and coconut cream

Causes of Low Cholesterol

  • Butter
  • Ghee
  • Hard margarines
  • Lard, dripping and goose fat
  • Fatty meat and meat products such as sausages
  • Red meat, whole-fat dairy products, and eggs,
  • Full fat cheese, milk, cream and yogurt
  • Coconut and palm oils and coconut cream, cocoa butter
  • toffee,
  • cakes,
  • puddings,
  • pastries,
  • pies and rich biscuits, which are made from the list above can also increase cholesterol

 

Healthy Cholesterol Foods

  • Porridge
  • Oatbran
  • Oat breakfast cereals
  • Bread made with 50% oat flour or oat bran
  • Oatcakes
  • Pearl barley
  • Baked beans
  • Adzuki beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, butter beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, edamame beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, split peas, white beans
  • Red lentils, green lentils
  • Vegetables rich in soluble fiber such as okra, aborigine, citrus fruits, turnip, sweet potato and mango
  • Unsalted soy nuts (also called roasted edamame beans)
  • Soya alternative to milk
  • Soya alternative to yogurt
  • Soya mince/chunks
  • Tofu
  • Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts (always unsalted)

Reference: https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/hdl-the-good-but-complex-cholesterol 

 

High and Low Sugar

Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology in the University of California and a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism, says that your body can safely metabolize at least six teaspoons of added sugar per day. But since most Americans are consuming over three times that amount, majority of the excess sugar becomes metabolized into body fat – leading to all the debilitating chronic metabolic diseases many people are struggling with.

Here are some of the effects that consuming too much sugar has on your health:

It overloads and damages your liver. The effects of too much sugar or fructose can be likened to the effects of alcohol. All the fructose you eat gets shuttled to the only organ that has the transporter for it: your liver. This severely taxes and overloads the organ, leading to potential liver damage.

It tricks your body into gaining weight and affects your insulin and leptin signaling. Fructose fools your metabolism by turning off your body’s appetite-control system. It fails to stimulate insulin, which in turn fails to suppress ghrelin, or “the hunger hormone,” which then fails to stimulate leptin or “the satiety hormone.” This causes you to eat more and develop insulin resistance

It causes metabolic dysfunction. Eating too much sugar causes a barrage of symptoms known as classic metabolic syndrome. These include weight gain, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL, elevated blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure.

It increases your uric acid levels. High uric acid levels are a risk factor for heart and kidney disease. In fact, the connection between fructose, metabolic syndrome, and your uric acid is now so clear that your uric acid level can now be used as a marker for fructose toxicity.

According to the latest research, the safest range of uric acid is between 3 to 5.5 milligrams per deciliter. If your uric acid level is higher than this, then it’s clear that you are at risk to the negative health impacts of fructose.

 

One of the most severe effects of eating too much sugar is its potential to wreak havoc on your liver, leading to a condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

 

Yes, the same disease that you can get from excessive alcohol intake can also be caused by excessive sugar (fructose) intake. Dr. Lustig explained the three similarities between alcohol and fructose:2

 

Your liver metabolizes alcohol the same way as sugar, as both serve as substrates for converting dietary carbohydrate into fat. This promotes insulin resistance, fatty liver, and dyslipidemia (abnormal fat levels in your blood)

Fructose undergoes the Maillard reaction with proteins. This causes superoxide free radicals to form, resulting in inflammation – a condition that can be also caused by acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol

Fructose can directly and indirectly stimulate the brain’s “hedonic pathway,” creating habituation and dependence, the same way that ethanol does

 

According to Harvard Health, consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary beverages.

 

Works Cited

Mercola, Joseph. “What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Too Much Sugar?” Mercola.com, articles.mercola.com/sugar-side-effects.aspx.

“The Sweet Danger of Sugar.” Harvard Health Blog, May 2017, www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar.