How Much Salt and Sodium Per Day Is Safe? What Happens If You Consume Too Much?

Sodium serves essential functions in your body. The recommended daily salt intake for adults is 6 grams and if you consume more it may increase your blood pressure and risk of stroke.

Table salt (commonly called salt) is technically a chemical known as sodium chloride. By weight, it is roughly 40% sodium and 60% chloride. It is used around the world as a flavoring agent and preservative. You probably don't notice the salt in the food you eat, but you may well be unknowingly engaging in excessive salt consumption that puts you at risk for several disorders like hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, and stroke. Sodium is vital for your body, so you must consume adequate amounts, but how much sodium is too much?

The recommendation for daily sodium consumption for people over the age of 13 is 2,300 milligrams. Since salt is 40% sodium, this works out to about 6 grams (one teaspoonful) of salt a day.

Sodium serves essential functions in your body. It helps regulate water balance and blood pressure. It also plays an important role in the functioning of nerves and muscles, including the heart muscle. 

Sodium isn't chemically identical to salt (serving instead as a component), but almost all the sodium you consume comes from salt. Reducing your salt consumption consequently reduces your sodium intake, though a small amount of your sodium intake may come from food additives such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrite, and sodium benzoate.

In fact, sodium is present in varying amounts in most foods. To control your sodium intake, you should avoid foods that are especially high in salt content:

• Pizza
• Pastries
• Flavored instant noodles
• Processed meat
• Fish canned in brine
• Smoked fish
• Pies
• Sausage rolls
• Hard cheeses
• Salted butter
• Sauces, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato sauce, and other flavorings

Statistically, only about 15% of your daily salt occurs naturally in food. The salt you add while cooking and eating makes up another 10%. Three-quarters (75%) of your salt intake, meanwhile, is added to foods you buy while it is being processed.

Sodium causes several problems if you consume too much of it regularly. These may include water retention, hypertension, heart and kidney disease, stroke, and bone disorders.

Water retention

Your kidneys may not be able to manage excessive sodium loads. As sodium collects in the blood, the body increases its water content to dilute it. The resulting increase in blood volume places greater pressure on the heart and blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure. 

High blood pressure

Sodium intake has a direct relationship with blood pressure. People who don't eat much salt, for instance, don't experience the typical age-associated rise in blood pressure. If you cut down your salt consumption, your blood pressure will fall in weeks. This is especially valuable if you have hypertension.

Hypertension increases your risk of stroke and heart disease. These are among the leading causes of death among adults. More than 670,000 deaths in the U.S. are caused in part by hypertension every year.

Stroke

A stroke is a life-threatening emergency caused by a part of the brain losing its blood supply. Two events commonly cause a stroke — a blood clot blocking a blood vessel or bleeding within the brain. Bleeding in the brain is almost always because of hypertension. Hypertension is also one of the causes of blood clots, along with diabetes, heartbeat irregularity, high cholesterol levels, smoking, alcohol, and obesity.

Heart attack

The most frequent risk factors for heart attacks are hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking. Reducing blood pressure by cutting down salt intake, then, is an effective way to reduce your risk of a heart attack.

Kidney disorders

High blood pressure also damages your kidneys. Kidney disease often has no symptoms and progresses unchecked. About 37 million people in the U.S. have some form of kidney disease, which can cause anemia, reduced appetite, increased infections, and overall poor quality of life. Three out of four cases of kidney failure are caused by hypertension or diabetes.

Osteoporosis (bone thinning)

Eating too much sodium leads to calcium being extracted from bones, leaving them fragile. Reduced calcium in bones (osteoporosis) can cause stooped posture because of the collapse of your spine bones. You could also experience fractures after even minor falls, sneezing, or coughing. 

Reducing salt intake leads to a positive calcium balance and can even minimize age-associated osteoporosis. 

The recommended daily salt intake for adults is 6 grams. If you're suffering from fluid retention or other disorders, though, your doctor may recommend a lower intake. 

Unfortunately for people trying to reduce their sodium, salt is everywhere, so controlling your salt and sodium intake needs constant vigilance. You should try to:

• Eat home-cooked food, adding as little salt as possible. This is the most effective way to reduce your salt consumption.
• Cut down your salt intake all at once. Initially, you will find food tasteless, but your tastebuds will adapt.
• Pay attention to food labels. Buy only foods with low salt content. Some packages only mention sodium — multiply by 2.5 to get the salt content. One gram of sodium equals 2.5 grams of salt. 
• Use herbs, spices, black pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, etc., to add flavor to your food.
• When dining out, ask for your food to be prepared without added salt.
• Avoid salty snacks like pretzels and chips. Choose unsalted nuts and other snacks.
• Wash canned vegetables under water before use.

You may find your food tasteless when you begin a low-salt diet. You should ask your doctor about substitute flavoring agents, such as potassium chloride, which adds flavor to your food and contains no sodium at all.

You may be wondering about rock salt, vegetable salt, pink Himalayan salt, garlic salt, and sea salt. These are chemically similar to table salt, though, and they have about as much sodium. Substituting them for regular salt yields no advantage. 

Salt over-consumption is widespread — 90% of Americans over the age of 2 eat too much salt. Consequently, four out of ten Americans have high blood pressure and are at risk for stroke and heart disease. Reducing salt consumption could save thousands of lives every year, but controlling salt intake requires a sustained, conscious effort. 

Home-cooked food is the safest since you can control the salt you add. Paying attention to food labels when shopping and choosing foods with low sodium content can significantly benefit your health.