If you have high blood pressure, my husbands doctor said he should not have more than 2,000 mg of sodium a day or 4 grams of salt. You sure don't realize how much sodium is in things till you try to stay under 2000mg.
Yes sodium can cause you to retain fluid.
"2) Aspartame. I love it in sweeteners (nutrasweek, etc.). I probably use between 100 and 200 packets a day. No joke. But I hear so many bad things about it. Is this junk science or not?
There is absolutely no nutritional value to aspartame or any phony sweetner.
I try to stay away from sweetners and don't add any sugar to cereal when I eat it, because there is already a lot of sugar in cold cereals.
"3) Water. I heard someone say you can actually drink too much water. Is this true? If so, how much is too much?"
When my husbands doctor added a (falsely called water pill according to the doctor)Hydroclorthizide to bring down his BP, he said it will cause him to urinate more for awhile, getting rid of the sodium build up.
I said I can't get him to drink much water and he might get dehydrated.
He told me its just an old wives tale about drinking 8 glasses of water a day. He said your body will tell you when you need to drink. When you get thirsty.
"4) yams and sweet potatoes. I love them. I usually have a yam or sweet potato along with one broiled chicken breast for a meal. What are the draw backs on yams and sweet potatoes?"
The only drawback I would know of would be if you eat to many (like carrots) the caratonin in them could cause your skin to turn yellowish/orange. If you are on a low carb diet, they are lower in carbs than a regular pototo.
I like yams and sweet potaotes and any squash.
"5) Body For Life Diet. I've lost a bit of weight on this diet, but I still lack energy. Any draw backs to this diet?"
I asked my doctor about Atkins. She said no, it is just to hard to stick with. She said, and I already knew this the weightwatchers or the diabetic diet is still the best. It is a change in eating habits. Eating from the 4 basic food groups in moderation.
Maybe your continued tiredness could be from an underlying medical condition.
Have you had your heart checked recently?