Foods high in organic sodium include pears, watermelon, celery, cabbage, okra and cucumber.
Most commercial sports drinks have modest sodium content in order to make them more palatable. A person exercising in heat needs as much as 2gm of sodium per liter for proper recovery – which would make sports drinks taste like seawater (there is about 0.5gm of sodium per liter of Gatorade). Drinking large amounts of plain water is not ideal in itself because it shuts off the sense of thirst and produces more urine which results in further fluid loss even though you are dehydrated.
You can increase your sodium intake by eating sodium-containing foods. Some people believe that table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is not a good way to get your sodium (note that there is 1gm of sodium in every 2.5gm of table salt), but others say that it is necessary.
Sea salt should be included in the diet, unless contraindicated for other reasons, as it benefits adrenal gland function. When seasoning foods, use as much salt as tastes good to you.
The concentration of sodium in the blood plasma depends on the total amount of sodium and water in the circulatory system. Hyponatremia, can be corrected either by increasing sodium or by decreasing water intake.
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