Sodium is a mineral present in the body that has benefits, including maintaining the proper fluid balance in the body and the acid-base level in the body, regulating blood pressure and assisting in nerve conduction. While sodium is an important...
Sodium is a cation, or positively charged ion, that is abundant in the extracellular tissues. It has a variety of purposes in the human body, including regulation of blood and body fluids and transmission of nerve impulses. For adults, a normal...
Dieting to lose weight can affect your sodium level -- to your health benefit. If you’re like most American adults, you routinely consume more sodium than you need and more than your body can handle over the long term. Regularly exceeding...
Sodium is a mineral essential for the proper functioning of your body. It affects fluid balance, nerve and muscle function, and can also impact your blood pressure. Your kidneys play a vital role in controlling your sodium level. Keeping your...
Potassium is involved in nerve function, muscle control and blood pressure. A diet high in sodium and low in potassium might contribute to high blood pressure. Normal potassium concentration in the blood is 3.6 to 4.8 milliequivalents per liter....
The fluids outside of your cells contain the majority of the sodium in your body. If your sodium levels become too low, you can develop hyponatremia. This can result in a variety of symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, as well as the sweating...
High sodium diets are more often linked to high blood pressure than those low in this mineral. While sodium is important to maintaining blood pressure, low levels don't cause a rise in blood pressure. Instead, you may suffer other complications...
Sodium is an electrolyte, a mineral that is electrically and magnetically charged in the body. It has two basic functions: First, it helps regulate the flow of electrical energy among cells; second, it helps to distribute water in the body. Normal...
Sodium is an essential mineral classified as a macromineral because the body requires more than 100 mg per day. Sodium supports vital life functions by regulating blood volume and blood pressure and serving an essential role in normal muscle and...
Sodium is an electrolyte that helps your body maintain stable water within and around its cells. Your body's sodium level represents how much sodium and water your body takes in through food and drink and how much it excretes through urine, stool...
Sodium is an electrolyte, an electrically charge molecule important in the body's fluid balance. Sodium is also important for the regulation of blood pressure, and for the functioning of muscles and nerves. Alterations in the level of sodium in...
Hyponatremia, or low sodium levels in the blood, can cause a person to be at increased risk for seizure, coma and death. If your sodium is low enough, you may exhibit signs of extreme tiredness and confusion. Hyponatremia should be considered an...
Sodium is a chemical element essential for human life. Sodium is found in many different kinds of food, including common salt. You need sodium to help maintain fluid balance within your body, for proper function of nerves and muscle and to...
The essential electrolyte sodium plays a key role in many of your body's functions. A balance between sodium intake and losses maintains normal sodium levels in the blood within a tight range. Several conditions and diseases can disrupt this...
Sodium is necessary for muscle contraction, heart function and nerve impulse transmission. It helps your body absorb and transport amino acids, glucose and water, as well as regulates blood volume and pressure. Too little or too much can have...
Sodium is a necessary nutrient; your body needs it to regulate water balance in your cells and keep your nerves and muscles functioning properly, says the Colorado State University Extension. But when you consume too much sodium -- in the form of...
One teaspoon of salt contains 2,335 mg of sodium, a content larger than the upper recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. Your body needs sodium to function. It keeps fluids and other electrolytes balanced in your body and is essential for...
The adrenals are a pair of triangular-shaped glands that sit atop the kidneys. They are in charge of secreting hormones that modulate the body's stress response and fluid and electrolyte balance. One of those hormones is aldosterone....
When hearing the word "diabetic," most people think of high sugar in the body. This is true with diabetes mellitus, which is the inability of the pancreas to make insulin in response to sugars or carbohydrates, or the inability of the body to use...
Sodium is an electrolyte necessary for maintaining fluid balance in the cells. When your sodium level is low, your cells may fill with too much fluid, which negatively affects normal function. A normal sodium level is 136 to 145 mEq/L, according...
Just as too much sodium causes serious health problems, so can low sodium levels. Your body needs sodium to perform a number of biological transactions, including nerve and muscle functioning and keeping your fluids balanced. Rarely are low sodium...
To function properly, your body requires a regular intake of sodium. In the United States, where the average diet tends to deliver sodium in excess of the recommended daily amount, low sodium levels are rare among women. However, certain...
Sodium usually has a negative connotation to it, but in actuality, sodium is necessary for many functions of your body. Low sodium levels may be a sign of dehydration or organ failure. The condition in which your blood level of sodium is...
Sodium is an electrolyte that helps regulate the amount of fluid that stays in and around your cells. Too little sodium, or hyponatremia, is a condition caused by an imbalance in the sodium and water in the blood. Normal blood plasma levels of...
Seizures, or convulsions, are the physical manifestations of abnormal electrical activity within the brain. Neurons, the cells that make up the brain and the nervous system, communicate with each other through electrical signals. When these...
Sodium is one of the electrolytes in your body. Low sodium is also referred to as hyponatremia. It can occur in people of all ages, but is more common in older adults. This may be due to other medical conditions the elderly may already have that...
Sodium is one of the electrolytes in the body. It helps to regulate the amount of water in and around body cells. A sodium level that's too high is called hypernatremia, and a sodium level that's too low is called hyponatremia. If the...
High level of sodium in the blood, or hypernatremia, is an electrolyte-imbalance that can be caused by dehydration, certain drugs and medications, hyperventilation, excess salt intake and certain endocrine diseases such as diabetes. Symptoms of...
The blood and the body fluids outside the cells contain most of the sodium inside the body. Sodium provides the body with many essential functions and it helps the body to keep its fluids in a normal balance. A low sodium level, or hyponatremia,...
Reading the labels of food items is important to properly balance a diet and uncover less obvious ingredients in food products. Try these tips for reading food labels in this healthy shopping video.
Sodium is a necessary electrolyte but should be kept to 2.4 grams a day. Learn how to eat a low sodium diet with professional tips in this nutrition video.
Limiting potassium in your diet can help patients with Addison's disease. Learn how to adjust your diet to fit your specific health and nutrition needs in this healthy shopping video.
