sodium and trans fats

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
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Hello,

I had a couple of high blood pressure readings at my company’s routine health screening. I plan to talk to my doctor in two months, but until then I want to make some changes to my diet, since I have a family history of cardiovascular disease.

I have two questions:

  1. What is the recommended sodium intake for someone who exceeds the cardio guidelines (300 minutes of moderate and 75 minutes of vigorous activity) in a hot, humid climate for most of the year? I sweat a lot during cardio, and my towel is soaked after exercise.My current intake is about 2000mg

  2. I was reading an article that Dr. Baraki recommended in an old topic about dairy, and it mentioned that butter should not be part of your daily diet. I want to make a change, and I was thinking about margarine (vegan margarine). It has only 0.1 g of trans fat per 10 g serving, which seems residual fat. Any thoughts about it?

As always, thank you in advance for your help :slightly_smiling_face:

the article:

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I think that aiming for < 2400mg/day of sodium is a good idea. I would not consciously take steps to consume more sodium generally speaking based on activity, generally speaking.

I would not recommend habitual consumption of vegan margarine over butter or vice versa in relatively small amounts. If you’re having butter or a substitute daily, I would wonder about a larger change to the dietary pattern.

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Oh, I thought I might need less sodium. I saw that the American Heart Association says 1,500 mg can be beneficial for people with elevated blood pressure. But since I have a good cardio routine, I was thinking of keeping my current intake, which is 2,000 mg (I use MyFitnessPal to track). Do you think that’s reasonable for now?

About dairy, let’s see if I got it right. My saturated fat intake is about 10% of my diet, with a little coming from dairy (mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese for pasta). Since margarine is a vegetable-based spread, I thought I could keep using it daily. So even margarine is a big no-no for heart health?

for context, I’m on a failed bulking phase; my waist is 33”, which isn’t too bad, but I’m carrying more fat than my endocrinologist and I are comfortable with, so I’m dialing back my body fat a bit.

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No, I would not say that margarine is a no-no for heart health. In fact, many of them are fortified with plant sterols that further lower blood lipids and cardiovascular risk.

For those who are seeking maximal blood lipid lowering via dietary means, I occasionally discuss them as part of an approach similar to the “Portfolio Diet”, which includes aiming for ~2g of plant sterols per day. This may not be your particular situation right now, but just illustrating the broader point.

I think Dr. Feigenbaum was getting at the idea that if you are currently habitually consuming butter every day, it may be more worthwhile to re-consider that pattern altogether, rather than aiming for a substitute like margarine. This ultimately depends on the overall amounts we’re talking about, but is a reasonable consideration.

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I see, thanks Dr. Baraki and Dr. Feigenbaum. I only consume one serving (~10g) per day (for two toasts), but I will reconsider. I will probably switch to avocado toast or cottage cheese as a spread :slightly_smiling_face: