The importance of chemical elements for the human body * Diana Clinic in St. Petersburg

Sodium is hazardous to health

Consuming too much sodium in your diet has many consequences and can lead to high blood pressure, kidney disease and heart disease. With the increase in consumption of fast foods and processed foods, sodium intake has increased over the years, especially in the United States and other "Western" countries.

Fresh produce contains very little sodium. When foods are processed, the amount of sodium in a given amount of food increases significantly. For example, a plain baked potato contains about 12 mg of sodium; but when processed and made into hash browns or potato chips, the same serving size contains over 500 mg of sodium!

Serum sodium

Other names: Sodium, Na

Service code for ordering 1151 Sodium (sodium in serum) in the Sinevo medical laboratory.

General information:

Sodium is an ion found in all body fluids outside cells and performs a large number of functions. The main source of sodium is table salt. A constant level of sodium in the body is maintained by the functioning of the kidneys and the complex functioning of the hormonal system.

When paired with potassium, sodium forms a “sodium-potassium pump”, which helps maintain the necessary acid-base balance, ensures the conduction of nerve impulses, contraction of skeletal muscles and heart muscles.

The most important role of sodium in the body is to regulate the volume of extracellular fluid, in other words, maintaining water balance. The volume of fluid in the body directly depends on the amount of sodium: one molecule of sodium binds 400 molecules of water. With excess sodium, water is retained in the tissues and edema occurs.

In addition, maintaining blood pressure is associated with sodium: its increased content in the body is one of the factors in the development of arterial hypertension.

Important! Hypernatremia often affects formula-fed infants, since formula milk contains much more sodium than breast milk. Sodium is excreted from the body of children less well than from the body of adults, so large amounts of sodium in baby food are dangerous for the child and can lead to dehydration.

When sodium levels drop sharply, a person may feel weak and tired, and in some cases, confusion or coma may occur. If sodium levels decrease slowly, there may be no symptoms at all, which is why it is so important to monitor sodium levels even if you feel normal.

Na is one of the indicators of water-electrolyte and acid-base balance.

Indications for use:

annual preventive examination;
diagnosis of pathology of the brain, lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, which is a consequence or cause of sodium deficiency or excess;
symptoms of hyponatremia (weakness, lethargy, confusion) and hypernatremia (thirst, decreased amount of urine output, convulsions, agitation);
presence of edema;
symptoms of dehydration (thirst, dry skin, decreased urination);
deficiency or excess of mineralocorticoids (adrenal cortex hormones);
pathology of the cardiovascular system, impaired renal function;
gastrointestinal disorders (vomiting, diarrhea);
assessment of treatment tactics for dehydration (fluid replacement) and monitoring the condition of patients undergoing infusion therapy;
monitoring the results of treatment of arterial hypertension, heart failure, kidney and/or liver diseases;
monitoring the effectiveness of treatment for patients with electrolyte imbalances, for example, when taking diuretics.

Research method: ion selective electrodes

Analyzer : Cobas 6000

Units: mmol/l

Material for research: venous blood serum

Recommendations for preparing for analysis:

take on an empty stomach, after sleep;
stop eating 8-12 hours before the test;
You can only drink clean, still water;
do not smoke for 2 hours before the test;
do not consume spicy, fatty, fried foods and alcohol for 2 days;
exclude physical and emotional stress 1 day before the analysis;
do not take the test after radiography, physiotherapeutic procedures and instrumental studies.

Interpretation of results:

The result of laboratory tests is not a sufficient basis for making a diagnosis. Interpretation of the results and diagnosis is carried out only by the attending physician.

Reference values:

135,0-145,0

Possible reasons for increased ionized sodium levels

insufficient intake of water into the body;
hypertensive dehydration:
loss of fluid through the skin due to heavy sweating,
loss of fluid through the lungs with prolonged shortness of breath;
loss of fluid through the gastrointestinal tract with frequent vomiting and severe diarrhea;
loss of fluid due to high fever;
sodium retention in the kidneys (decreased urinary excretion) with primary and secondary hyperaldosteronism, Cushing's syndrome;
excessive administration of sodium salts, for example, hypertonic sodium chloride solution.

Possible reasons for a decrease in ionized sodium levels

When the extracellular fluid volume is small and the total sodium level is low, the reasons may be:

taking diuretics;
jade with salt loss;
Addison's disease;
glucocorticoid deficiency;
osmotic diuresis (diabetes with glucosuria, condition after a violation of urinary tract obstruction);
renal tubular acidosis, metabolic alkalosis;
extrarenal loss of Na+ and water (pancreatitis, peritonitis, intestinal obstruction, heartburn, severe diarrhea, vomiting, sweating);
ketonuria.

In the case when the volume of extracellular fluid is moderately increased and total sodium is normal, the reasons may be:

syndrome of impaired ADH secretion;
hypothyroidism;
psychogenic polydipsia;
pain, stress, emotions;
postoperative conditions (5% of patients);
medications.

In cases where the volume of extracellular fluid is large and the level of total sodium is increased, the causes may be diseases associated with edema:

congestive heart failure;
nephrotic syndrome, renal failure;
cirrhosis of the liver;
cachexia;
hypoproteinemia.

Substances and drugs that affect the increase in ionized sodium levels: amino acids, ampicillin, betamethasone, sodium bicarbonate, carbamazepine, cefotaxime, oral contraceptives, steroids, cortisone, doxorubicin, methyldopa, methyltestosterone, prednisolone, tetracycline.

Substances and drugs that affect the decrease in ionized sodium levels: amphotericin, NSAIDs, captopril, carbamazepine, chlorothiazide, furosemide, gentamicin, isosorbide dinitrate, laxatives, methylprednisolone, miconazole, morphine, nifedipine, omeprazole, triamterene, trimethoprim, vasopressin, vincristine.

Where to get tested for ionized sodium

take a blood test for ionized sodium at any Synevo point in Minsk, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Borisov, Brest, Vitebsk, Gantsevichi, Gomel, Grodno, Zhlobin, Lida, Mogilev, Mozyr, Molodechno, Novogrudok, Novopolotsk, Orsha, Pinsk, Polotsk, Rechitsa, Svetlogorsk, Slutsk, Smorgon, Soligorsk.

Sodium Really Benefits You

Although sodium gets a bad rap, it is important to include it in our diet. Sodium is considered an essential mineral and is essential for the proper functioning of our body. It is necessary for our body to maintain the correct acid-base balance in body fluids; helps maintain the required amount of water in the blood and tissues of the body; and this is necessary for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves.

It is recommended that both men and women consume about 1,500 mg of sodium per day for proper body function. Consuming too little sodium is also bad for us and causes side effects such as weakness, poor appetite, muscle cramps, headache and swelling.

Causes of sodium deficiency

Age-related water imbalance;
Low sodium diet;
Sports loads;
Profuse sweating.

At-risk groups

Aged people;
Athletes;
People engaged in heavy physical work;
Visitors to saunas and baths;
People suffering from diarrhea, etc.

Main symptoms of sodium deficiency

High excitability;
Exhaustion;
Sensitivity to cold;
Nausea;
Headache;
Lethargy.

We consume too much sodium in our diet

According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, adult men and women in the United States consumed between 3,000 and 4,659 mg of sodium per day. It is recommended not to exceed 2300 mg per day, so some people consumed more than double the recommendation!

The sodium content of processed and fast foods is already very high. But even adding salt to unprocessed foods can be very dangerous. One teaspoon of salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium, which is the maximum recommended amount for the entire day. So, if you add salt to food, you may want to measure it first.

Excess sodium

Exceeding the norm of sodium in the body is also undesirable, because it can lead to even greater problems than a deficiency.

Unfortunately, we don’t even notice how quickly we exceed our daily sodium intake. It is enough to eat 250-300 g of chips, 500 g of baked goods, 3 large sausages, or just 150-200 g of salted fish. In addition, many people like to heavily season their dishes with salt and spices, which is guaranteed to lead to a strong excess of sodium.

Approximate salt content in products

Calculations are given per 100 g of product.

Butter 0.2
Cookies, sweets 0.9-1.5
Boiled sausage, frankfurters 1.8-2.5
Chips 1.5-2
Eggplant caviar, zucchini caviar (canned) 3.5-4
Salmon, pink salmon (canned) 4
Salted herring 25

Hygienist and head of the expert department of the Roskontrol organization Andrey Mosov:

— The salt content in bread is one of the most important problems, since its excessive consumption largely determines the high incidence of circulatory diseases among Russians. After 30 years, every second Russian has high blood pressure. And, according to scientists, the contribution of bread to the fact that this problem exists is very large. That is why one of the main directions of Russian state policy in the field of healthy nutrition of the population is a systematic reduction in the consumption of table salt, including by reducing its content in bread.

Sodium - functions and values in the blood

Sodium is a mineral widely distributed in nature: river and sea water, in the ground, in stones; this element is also present in all organisms: animals and plants.

In fact, sodium plays an important role in our body , as it performs several vital functions:

It is responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses, i.e. participates in connections between cells of the nervous system and allows muscles to contract. The positive charge of sodium is used to create a potential difference between the outside and inside of the cell, which is important for the transmission of impulses and muscle contractions.
Together with potassium, it regulates the water-salt balance of the body. Sodium at the kidney level promotes the reabsorption of water and mineral salts from the filtrate. Antagonizes the effect of potassium, thereby preventing excessive water loss. Therefore, the balance of sodium and potassium is important to maintain a constant blood volume: if you drink little, it is necessary for sodium to retain water, and, conversely, if you drink a lot of water, blood volume does not increase, since excess water is excreted through urine.