Sodium and potassium act as electrolytes in your body, and certain conditions can affect the normal balance of these electrolytes. For example, dehydration can cause hyponatremia, or low amounts of sodium in your bloodstream. An increase in the...
Frequent urination isn't necessarily a symptom of low sodium levels. Because sodium is a vital mineral for proper body functions, very low levels can lead to serious health complications. If you suspect you have low sodium levels, speak to a...
Sodium is important for cell and blood volume regulation; it is the most abundant positively charged ion outside the cell. It is important to maintain an optimal sodium concentration because a sodium imbalance can affect your blood volume. Excess...
Your body requires some sodium to maintain the correct balance of fluids in your tissues and blood, although too much salt in your diet can raise your risk of developing certain health conditions. Consuming excessive amounts of sodium may increase...
If you suffer from frequent night urination, you may want to monitor the sodium content of your diet. Sodium has a direct impact on how your body manages water. This role affects all aspects of body function from blood pressure to pH control to...
Sodium is a nutrient that the body needs for many vital processes. It plays an important part in muscle and nerve function, as well as in water balance. The kidneys determine how much sodium to excrete to prevent sodium imbalance. Too little...
High-protein diets have been used to improve health for more than 2,000 years, according to Dr. Margo Denke of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, whether to improve athletic performance or promote weight loss. Consuming...
Potassium, an essential mineral, functions as an electrolyte, along with sodium, to regulate the balance of water in the body. Potassium also plays a key role in muscle contractions, making it important for digestion and heart and skeletal-muscle...
Diuretics refer to substances that facilitate ridding the body of excess fluids and salt. Diuretics work by making the kidneys excrete more sodium in the urine, which causes an increase in water accumulation to concentrate the sodium levels,...
Salt-laden meals might taste savory to some people, but leave others feeling uncomfortable at the end of a meal. Salt's relationship to increased blood pressure is a hot topic, and exactly what the mechanism is behind its effects remains a matter...
HIV is a complex disorder that can cause many different health problems, including kidney disease. One way of treating kidney problems due to HIV is to prescribe diuretics, a type of medication that helps the kidneys excrete more water. Diuretics...
High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is a chronic medical problem that can put patients at an increased risk of developing other forms of cardiovascular disease, such as heart failure, atherosclerosis and stroke. There are many...
Water pills, also referred to as diuretics, help your body excrete excess amounts of sodium and water. Water pills work by stimulating your kidneys to put excess amounts of sodium in your urine. When sodium moves from your blood to your urine, it...
A diuretic is a substance that makes the body release sodium and water. The Mayo Clinic explains that diuretics work by encouraging the kidneys to expel more sodium with urine. As the sodium is pulled from the blood, it brings water with it,...
Sodium, an electrolyte, helps maintain normal blood pressure, supports your nerves and muscles, and regulates your fluid balance. Your kidneys are important organs that help regulate the levels of fluid and different electrolytes in your body...
The kidneys filter out water, sodium, and potassium, send a precise amount back into the blood stream and get rid of the excess as urine. Some health conditions interfere with kidney functioning, causing fluid retention. Diuretics promote sodium...
Reducing your risk for heart disease and high blood pressure is a primary reason most people want to lose weight. Overdoing it on sodium-rich foods or reaching for the salt shaker at every meal counteracts your efforts to eat healthy, and it can...
The amount of sodium lost in a day really depends on your activity level, environment and natural variations in sodium loss from person to person. Athletes in a hot climate, for example, can expect to lose far more sodium than a sedentary person...
Sodium plays a critical role in the regulation of your major bodily functions. How much or how little fluid you retain, as well as the functioning of your nervous system and your muscles all depend on sodium. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for...
Many people think of sodium as the salt used as an additive, but when sodium is combined with chloride, the result is table salt. Sodium is also extremely important as an electrolyte within the body, which carries a small electrical charge and is...
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...
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,...
Sodium and potassium are important elements for various processes in the human bodies. They are electrolytes, electrically charged molecules that serve as essential components in fluid balance, muscle movement, heart function including cardiac...
If you have hypertension, your doctor may prescribe medication that lowers your blood pressure, such as Aldactone. High blood pressure increases your risk of having a heart attack, stroke or kidney problems and must be carefully treated. If you...
High sodium or sugar consumption, hormonal changes and medical conditions can increase your risk of fluid retention, or edema. This often results in bloating or swelling of your hands, feet, abdomen or face. Use of natural diuretics can decrease...
Addison's disease, or primary adrenal insufficiency, is an uncommon disorder in which your adrenal glands slowly fail. The outer area of your adrenal glands, the cortex, produces the hormones cortisol, aldosterone and small amounts of other...
Your body relies on salt for many essential biological functions, but eating too much of it can be detrimental to your health. Many packaged foods and restaurant meals contain large amounts of sodium to enhance their flavor. Monitoring your sodium...
Sodium is essential for proper body function. It helps regulate blood volume and blood pressure and is necessary for proper nerve and muscle function. Sodium also helps maintain a normal balance of body fluids. According to Medline Plus, a normal...
You may be craving a certain food for a number of reasons. Cravings could be psychological or physical. Various situations that trigger an emotional response can kick-start a craving you associate with stress relief. To normalize an imbalanced...
