How Much Sodium Should I Consume Per Day?

Are you a person who craves salty packaged foods like pretzels, jerky or potato chips? If so, you might be one of the millions of Americans who consumes too much sodium. According to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of us get too much of the mineral.

While sodium is an essential nutrient, excess consumption is linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. So it is important to find out where salt is hiding in your diet and how to reduce your sodium intake.

Your body needs a small amount of sodium to function. You need about 500 milligrams per day to maintain healthy blood pressure and to support the work of your nerves and muscles. As an electrolyte, sodium also helps to regulate how much fluid we have around our cells.

Having too little sodium in your bloodstream can lead to hyponatremia. This is a condition that is sometimes seen in endurance athletes and others who consume a lot of fluids, such as runners. Hyponatremia is characterized by nausea, confusion, and extreme fatigue. But very few of us are at risk for sodium deficiency.

As part of a healthy eating pattern, the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that we consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day. The American Heart Association takes that guideline a step further. The AHA suggests that an ideal limit is no more is no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults. People who have conditions including kidney disease and hypertension need to be especially careful that they watch their sodium intake.

To put the guideline into perspective, it might be helpful to visualize the sodium recommendation in a more familiar measurement. A teaspoon of salt contains about 2,325 milligrams of sodium. But that doesn’t mean you can consume a whole teaspoon of table salt every day. In fact, most of the sodium we consume is already in the foods that we eat.

The average American consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium every day. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, over 70% of that sodium comes from eating packaged and prepared foods — not from table salt added to food when cooking or eating.

So you can set aside the salt shaker, but that may not be enough to reduce your daily sodium intake to recommended levels. Instead, you’ll need to learn how to read package labels and find hidden sodium in food.

Sodium Labels on Food

The Nutrition Facts label is your first line of defense when you’re trying to eliminate unwanted sodium. The label indicates the amount of sodium in a single serving of the food and the percent daily value.

Daily value or DV is the recommended amount of a nutrient to consume as determined by the USDA. The DV for sodium is 2,300 milligrams. So if a food contains 575 milligrams of sodium, then it would provide 25% of the daily value (DV) of sodium if you eat just one serving.

Keep in mind, however, that the sodium amount listed on the nutrition label includes all types of sodium, not just salt. Table salt is a combination of sodium and chloride. Other food additives, including monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium nitrite, and sodium benzoate also contain sodium. If a food contains any of these ingredients, then they contribute to the total amount of sodium listed on the Nutrition Facts label.

High-Sodium Foods

Many ready-made and ready-to-eat convenience foods are high in sodium—and not just foods that you might consider to be salty. Of course, sodium is used to flavor food, but it is also used to retain moisture in foods and as a food preservative. So you might find sodium in sweet foods like baked goods or breakfast cereal.

Foods that are typically high in sodium include:

• Burgers
• Burritos
• Egg dishes
• Deli meats
• Pizza
• Prepared pasta dishes
• Prepared snacks such as chips, crackers or popcorn
• Poultry
• Soups
• Tacos

Low-Sodium Foods

Foods in their natural, whole form (such as whole fruits, whole vegetables, unprocessed grains, etc.) are likely to be lower in sodium than their prepared counterparts. For example, while corn on the cob contains some sodium naturally, it is likely to have far less sodium than canned corn. So, looking for foods in their most natural form can help you cut back on salt.

For packaged and prepared foods, you can look at package labels to help you find foods that are lower in sodium. But the words used on food labels can be tricky. To help you sort through the terms, the FDA provides these descriptions that are regulated by the government.

• Salt-free or sodium-free: Contains less than 5 mg of sodium per serving

• Very low-sodium: Contains 35 mg of sodium or less per serving

• Low-sodium: Contains 140 mg of sodium or less per serving

• Reduced sodium: Contains at least 25% less sodium than the regular product

• Light in sodium or lightly salted: Contains at least 50% less sodium than the regular product

• No-salt-added or unsalted: No salt is added during processing, but these products may not be salt/sodium-free unless stated

Reducing your total daily sodium intake can improve your health. In fact, the American Heart Association suggests that reducing your intake by just 1,000 mg per day can significantly improve blood pressure and heart health.

Reading food labels and making careful choices at the supermarket is one way to reach that goal. Use these other tips to cut back on sodium and support good health.

• Cook at home with natural ingredients. Restaurant foods and convenience foods are higher in sodium. Try to prepare your foods at home with fewer ready-made ingredients.

• Shop in the produce section, rather than the aisles. Try to buy fresh vegetables rather than canned or frozen varieties with added salt. If you opt for packaged varietes, look for those that do not have salt added.

• Rinse canned foods before adding them to recipes. Foods like canned beans or olives tend to be high in sodium. Simply rinsing them off can help to reduce your salt intake.

• Flavor your food without salt. Use fresh herbs or citrus to add flavor to your food. Try to avoid high sodium condiments like mustard and ketchup. You might also try a salt alternative, but read the label carefully as many contain sodium.

Lastly, you may consider including more high-potassium foods in your diet. Foods like bananas, sweet potatoes, broccoli and spinach provide this important mineral. According to the CDC, increasing the amount of potassium in your diet while decreasing the amount of sodium you consume might help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke.