The trend for "clean" bland eating forces millions of people to give up the salt shaker in pursuit of mythical abs. But it's not that simple. If a person has no medical contraindications, a salt-free diet will only bring harm, mental hunger, and inevitable breakdown. Fitness trainer Lera Logunova explains how salt helps with proper nutrition and why its deficiency is dangerous for training. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
"Why do some still think that bland food is synonymous with a healthy lifestyle? People confuse cause and effect. In medicine, salt restriction is a standard recommendation for people with hypertension, kidney failure, or severe edema. But at some point, the fitness industry picked it up and distorted it," the trainer believes.
In her opinion, many have linear logic: "Since salt retains water, if I remove it, I will immediately become dry, defined, and lose weight."
A psychological factor also adds to this. People think that the more they suffer over their plate, the faster the result will come. However, Logunova emphasizes that it won't.
"The first myth is that salt makes you fat. But salt contains no calories, proteins, fats, or carbohydrates. It physically cannot increase the amount of fat in your body. Excess sodium can temporarily retain water (for a day or two), but that's not fat. Once the water-salt balance is restored, this water will go away," she notes.
Logunova explains that if food is not tasty, the brain ultimately does not get satisfaction from it. And the constant feeling of mental hunger will sooner or later lead to a breakdown on chips, fast food, or sweets.
"Moderate amounts of salt make healthy food (vegetables, grains, quality protein) tasty, helping you stick to an adequate diet for a long time," she emphasizes.
Myth 3. The less salt, the better for health
But this, according to the trainer, is a very dangerous misconception. Sodium is a vital electrolyte. It is responsible for transmitting nerve impulses, muscle contraction (including the heart), maintaining blood volume and pressure.
"If you exercise actively, sweat a lot, and completely eliminate salt, you are guaranteed to experience loss of strength, muscle cramps, dizziness, and decreased endurance," she warns.
Extremes include, of course, chronic excess salt. If the diet consists of semi-finished products, sausages, store-bought sauces, and chips, sodium becomes too much. This overloads the kidneys, raises blood pressure, and causes constant swelling.
The other extreme is total refusal. It triggers compensatory mechanisms. The body begins to actively produce the hormone aldosterone, which tries to retain every drop of sodium.
"As a result, you get the same swelling, but against the background of mineral deficiency and muscle weakness," she explains.
According to the trainer, balance is needed in everything. If you have no medical contraindications and diagnosed hypertension, you should stop being afraid of the salt shaker. It is important to cook at home and salt food to taste. After all, excess sodium comes not from the salt shaker, but from ready-made ultra-processed food. So, if you eat whole foods and salt them during cooking, you are in a safe zone.
In any case, food should bring pleasure and provide energy for training, not be a cause for anxiety.
Earlier, Logunova shared her experience and told how not to quit training in the first two weeks.
If the article causes anxiety, discuss it with an artificial psychologist.