Salt Intake & Effects on Excess Urination, Dehydration and Liver

Hi guys,

I know there is nuance associated with medical questions, so I’m not expecting a diagnosis or a “Oh yeah, it is exactly X, so do Y.” Rather, I’m becoming more interested in how the body functions and using myself as a sample size of one is enlightening for my own purposes. And perhaps there is insight another forum member could garner from this post. Or I could just completely lack knowledge. Either of the two are strong possibilities.

As for the question/discussion: I’ve learned (thanks) that there is a benefit in increasing salt intake for a training individual (I’m a 22-year-old male, 6’1’’ and weigh 173 lbs – started LP at 130). My diet consists of single ingredient foods, in which I don’t add any salt. I’ve done better in buying tuna with salt added or rice cakes that have salt, but those are one-offs for when I travel. Also, I seem to have the urge to urinate a lot (I’m lucky if I can make it more than 2 hours without needing to go). I wake up multiple times a night to go, too. If I go an hour without drinking any water, I tend to feel thirsty. But when I consciously drink more water, I have to pee even more.

Furthermore, does a combination of low salt intake and excess urination have a possibility of affecting the liver? I had elevated BUN & AST levels for my last blood test, which was Oct. 4th, 2016 (I know…). I started my LP at 130 lbs in January of this year and gained weight and have felt “fine”, with the exception being all of this. Anyhow, I’ve used myself as context for the discussion, but am more interested in talking about the general idea behind this post. If there is any insight either of you guys could offer, that’d be great. Thanks for the time.

Jacob,

Thanks for the post. Unfortunately, the only question I can answer is if being dehydrated can affect BUN and AST levels and the answer is “yes, technically”. However, this would also elevate all labs (to varying degrees) since the volume of fluid is decreased. Does low dietary salt alter BUN and AST in and of itself? Nah.

As to your multiple bouts of nightly urination, increased thirst, etc.- I’d recommend you see a doctor for this as the differential is exceedingly long. I would hate to hazard a guess at something that’s benign and scare you or scare you over something benign, you know?