szimeil
Great Sodium Article
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
As mentioned in the "cutting water" thread, a well known bodybuilder, contest
prep coach, and writer for MuscleMag has givin a whole new perspective on the
effects sodium has to a bodybuilder/athlete. I believe this article was
published in MuscleMag a while back. I hope this helps all you fellow IM'ers
out as much as it has for me.
================================================== ========
VENICE BEACH - SODIUM
When searching for experts of the very best pedigree to inform our readers of
the difference between what is valid and honest bodybuilding instruction and
what is no more than misinformed gym talk and hog wash we knew just where to
go. To combat the verbal garbage and, worse still, dangerous habits brought
on by brainwashing from mega -corporations motivated by the almighty dollar,
we looked no further than Scott Abel. Although long established as a force to
be listened to very carefully on all manners of topics concerning
bodybuilding diet, supplementation and training advice, it is not until
recently that Scott Abel and his depth of knowledge has captured the
attention of foreign and domestic mainstream media.
When we asked if he would be prepared to share some of his expertise with our
readers, he agreed saying that he hoped to clear up many of the controversial
issues that lead to confusion and counterproductive results among many of
today's amateur-level bodybuilders. He has chosen as his first sermon (he is
almost religious in his need to dispel bodybuilding
nonsense and preach the truth) the very much needed place for salt in every
bodybuilder's diet.
Has anyone ever pondered where old cliches and old expressions come from? It
is true that most adages handed down through time come from the experiences
and cultural milieu of their time period. So try to imagine how expressions
such as "he's salt of the earth" or "that man's worth his salt" came to pass.
In ancient times salt was precious. It was traded as the
most valued of all commodities. Having salt was as close to life insurance as
one could get. Given the preponderance of modern-day phobias surrounding salt
and sodium we seem to have a paradox here. How could something so important
to survival during one epoch be considered so necessary to avoid during
another? The answer may surprise you. While times have definitely changed,
human biochemistry and physiology have not changed that much. Few of us toil
under the sweltering heat of a pounding sun any more and modern society has
contributed much to the many modern stress-related
ills such as hypertension.
Never the less, our needs for the most important of electrolytes in our
bodies has not changed. In particular the metabolic needs of high-performance
athletes probably most closely resembles the needs of our ancient
forefathers, especially in regard to electrolyte ingestion. Truth be told,
the anti-sodium campaign began as a commercial movement to sell different
foodstuffs and snacks under the guise of being healthier. Much like the low-
fat advertising movement, manufacturers care not so much about accurately in
advertising as much as they do about what works in advertising. As soon as
the low-sodium content commercials were shown to create dividends, other food
and supplement companies followed suit to the point where, by default,
consumers started to believe that low-sodium was good and salt was in general
was bad. People failed to see that they had been internalizing advertising
and not actual scientific information. For generations manufacturers have
been marketing products by bombarding the public with what ingredients their
brand either does or does not have to make
their product sell better than the competition's. Pure snack/junk food
companies tend to focus mostly on better taste whereas companies who aim at
the health-conscious consumer will focus on the bad ingredients they did not
put in their product because they care so much about the consumer's health.
Like sheep, we follow along buying the low fat this or no sodium that product
not realizing or questioning the motivation to do so. In regard to sodium
intake, studies are coming in regularly refuting its bad reputation and
negative impact on human health, performance and physiology. Studies in
Canada at McGill and McMaster Universities have concluded that unless one has
a specific and serious condition which would preclude him from taking in
salt, then salt intake will produce no negative health problems and could
actually be health promoting.
As an introduction this may well be more information than you wanted to know,
but it goes much further. High-performance athletes actually need to go out
of their way not to avoid sodium. In fact, they need to ensure they get
adequate amounts of salt daily to prevent negative metabolic consequeces, and
to ensure maximum performance. That is the focus of this
article.
Athletes who are concerned about maximum performance (and who among them are
not?) are decisive about what they eat for several reasons. Most athletes
know that the body is a complex computer that one can either program by
understanding sound dietary strategy, or not be in charge of by letting the
body program itself by using haphazard and misconstrued eating
patterns. Different athletes eat for different reasons. Three of the main
ones are 1) they eat as a preventive measure to help them stay free from
illness 2) They eat for fitness by ensuring optimum energy stores,
recuperation and restoration 3) bodybuilders especially, find it vitally
important to follow certain eating regimens to produce a cosmetic effect i.e.
a leaner,
harder physique.
Having said that, the truth of the matter is that a high-sodium diet fulfills
all three of the above criteria for athletes eating to improve performance.
As a matter of scientific fact, many negative problems having to do with
athletic performance or submaximal athletic performance or even failure to
improve begin when athletes and health enthusiasts mistakenly eliminate
sodium from their diets and these can last for a long term. While addressing
sodium is the primary focus of this article, no nutrient acts on metabolism
only by itself. Any discussion on sodium is incomplete without mentioning
potassium and the hormone aldosterone.
1
As an electrolyte, sodium is the positively charged ion on the outside of the
living cell. Cations, anions and ions exist in an exact balance outside and
inside cells so that a change in the balance of one or more cations or ions
will cause a change in other cations and ions in order to maintain cell
integrity. Simply put, sodium is responsible for regulating blood volume and
blood pressure - although it serves other functions as well. During a set of
high-intensity muscle contraction blood pressure rises; this is a primary
response of high-intensity training. During high-performance exercise the
metabolism of the body is better served by a higher blood volume since this
translates into better oxygen and nutrient delivery to working cells. Just as
importantly, a higher blood volume results in a more efficient removal of
fatigue toxins such as lactic acid. A low sodium intake translates into a
lower blood volume, which is disastrous to an athlete. Even in healthy
people, low blood volume produces a myriad of problems. Studies at the
University of Bonn concluded that a low-sodium diet (and the resulting lower
blood volume) was more health threatening than hypertension itself - the main
reason people are put on low -sodium diets to begin with. These effects are
even more pronounced in an athlete's body. In a low -sodium situation the
resulting low blood volume delivers less oxygen and nutrie
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
As mentioned in the "cutting water" thread, a well known bodybuilder, contest
prep coach, and writer for MuscleMag has givin a whole new perspective on the
effects sodium has to a bodybuilder/athlete. I believe this article was
published in MuscleMag a while back. I hope this helps all you fellow IM'ers
out as much as it has for me.
================================================== ========
VENICE BEACH - SODIUM
When searching for experts of the very best pedigree to inform our readers of
the difference between what is valid and honest bodybuilding instruction and
what is no more than misinformed gym talk and hog wash we knew just where to
go. To combat the verbal garbage and, worse still, dangerous habits brought
on by brainwashing from mega -corporations motivated by the almighty dollar,
we looked no further than Scott Abel. Although long established as a force to
be listened to very carefully on all manners of topics concerning
bodybuilding diet, supplementation and training advice, it is not until
recently that Scott Abel and his depth of knowledge has captured the
attention of foreign and domestic mainstream media.
When we asked if he would be prepared to share some of his expertise with our
readers, he agreed saying that he hoped to clear up many of the controversial
issues that lead to confusion and counterproductive results among many of
today's amateur-level bodybuilders. He has chosen as his first sermon (he is
almost religious in his need to dispel bodybuilding
nonsense and preach the truth) the very much needed place for salt in every
bodybuilder's diet.
Has anyone ever pondered where old cliches and old expressions come from? It
is true that most adages handed down through time come from the experiences
and cultural milieu of their time period. So try to imagine how expressions
such as "he's salt of the earth" or "that man's worth his salt" came to pass.
In ancient times salt was precious. It was traded as the
most valued of all commodities. Having salt was as close to life insurance as
one could get. Given the preponderance of modern-day phobias surrounding salt
and sodium we seem to have a paradox here. How could something so important
to survival during one epoch be considered so necessary to avoid during
another? The answer may surprise you. While times have definitely changed,
human biochemistry and physiology have not changed that much. Few of us toil
under the sweltering heat of a pounding sun any more and modern society has
contributed much to the many modern stress-related
ills such as hypertension.
Never the less, our needs for the most important of electrolytes in our
bodies has not changed. In particular the metabolic needs of high-performance
athletes probably most closely resembles the needs of our ancient
forefathers, especially in regard to electrolyte ingestion. Truth be told,
the anti-sodium campaign began as a commercial movement to sell different
foodstuffs and snacks under the guise of being healthier. Much like the low-
fat advertising movement, manufacturers care not so much about accurately in
advertising as much as they do about what works in advertising. As soon as
the low-sodium content commercials were shown to create dividends, other food
and supplement companies followed suit to the point where, by default,
consumers started to believe that low-sodium was good and salt was in general
was bad. People failed to see that they had been internalizing advertising
and not actual scientific information. For generations manufacturers have
been marketing products by bombarding the public with what ingredients their
brand either does or does not have to make
their product sell better than the competition's. Pure snack/junk food
companies tend to focus mostly on better taste whereas companies who aim at
the health-conscious consumer will focus on the bad ingredients they did not
put in their product because they care so much about the consumer's health.
Like sheep, we follow along buying the low fat this or no sodium that product
not realizing or questioning the motivation to do so. In regard to sodium
intake, studies are coming in regularly refuting its bad reputation and
negative impact on human health, performance and physiology. Studies in
Canada at McGill and McMaster Universities have concluded that unless one has
a specific and serious condition which would preclude him from taking in
salt, then salt intake will produce no negative health problems and could
actually be health promoting.
As an introduction this may well be more information than you wanted to know,
but it goes much further. High-performance athletes actually need to go out
of their way not to avoid sodium. In fact, they need to ensure they get
adequate amounts of salt daily to prevent negative metabolic consequeces, and
to ensure maximum performance. That is the focus of this
article.
Athletes who are concerned about maximum performance (and who among them are
not?) are decisive about what they eat for several reasons. Most athletes
know that the body is a complex computer that one can either program by
understanding sound dietary strategy, or not be in charge of by letting the
body program itself by using haphazard and misconstrued eating
patterns. Different athletes eat for different reasons. Three of the main
ones are 1) they eat as a preventive measure to help them stay free from
illness 2) They eat for fitness by ensuring optimum energy stores,
recuperation and restoration 3) bodybuilders especially, find it vitally
important to follow certain eating regimens to produce a cosmetic effect i.e.
a leaner,
harder physique.
Having said that, the truth of the matter is that a high-sodium diet fulfills
all three of the above criteria for athletes eating to improve performance.
As a matter of scientific fact, many negative problems having to do with
athletic performance or submaximal athletic performance or even failure to
improve begin when athletes and health enthusiasts mistakenly eliminate
sodium from their diets and these can last for a long term. While addressing
sodium is the primary focus of this article, no nutrient acts on metabolism
only by itself. Any discussion on sodium is incomplete without mentioning
potassium and the hormone aldosterone.
1
As an electrolyte, sodium is the positively charged ion on the outside of the
living cell. Cations, anions and ions exist in an exact balance outside and
inside cells so that a change in the balance of one or more cations or ions
will cause a change in other cations and ions in order to maintain cell
integrity. Simply put, sodium is responsible for regulating blood volume and
blood pressure - although it serves other functions as well. During a set of
high-intensity muscle contraction blood pressure rises; this is a primary
response of high-intensity training. During high-performance exercise the
metabolism of the body is better served by a higher blood volume since this
translates into better oxygen and nutrient delivery to working cells. Just as
importantly, a higher blood volume results in a more efficient removal of
fatigue toxins such as lactic acid. A low sodium intake translates into a
lower blood volume, which is disastrous to an athlete. Even in healthy
people, low blood volume produces a myriad of problems. Studies at the
University of Bonn concluded that a low-sodium diet (and the resulting lower
blood volume) was more health threatening than hypertension itself - the main
reason people are put on low -sodium diets to begin with. These effects are
even more pronounced in an athlete's body. In a low -sodium situation the
resulting low blood volume delivers less oxygen and nutrie
Krzysztof Piekarz
qazar
domer
wiec sod ucieka wraz z potem ,i to munstwo 
zakrześ
bez przesady
Sachem
