Sodium

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Seniors
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Table salt is a combination of two minerals - sodium and chloride Your body needs some sodium to work properly. It helps with the function of nerves and muscles. It also helps to keep the right balance of fluids in your body. Your kidneys control how much sodium is in your body. If you have too much and your kidneys can't get rid it, sodium builds up in your blood. This can lead to high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to other health problems.

Most people in the U.S. get more sodium in their diets than they need. A key to healthy eating is choosing foods low in sodium. The Dietary Guidelines recommend that most adults eat less than 2.3 grams per day. That equals about 1 teaspoon of table salt a day. Some people are more sensitive to the effects of salt than others and should eat less. This includes people who have high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney problems, or are African-American or over age 50. Reading food labels can help you see how much sodium is in prepared foods.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Lowering Salt in Your Diet (Food and Drug Administration)
• Sodium (Salt or Sodium Chloride) (American Heart Association) Also in Spanish
• Sodium and Food Sources (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Sodium: How to Tame Your Salt Habit (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Sodium Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Can Processed Foods Be Part of a Healthy Diet? (American Heart Association)
• Central Pontine Myelinolysis (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Salty Six (American Heart Association)
• Sea Salt vs. Table Salt: What's the Difference? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Shifting the Balance of Sodium and Potassium in Your Diet (Harvard School of Public Health)
• Water Softeners: How Much Sodium Do They Add? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Hyponatremia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Health Check Tools

• Test Your Sodium Smarts (American Heart Association)

Statistics and Research

• CDC Vital Signs: Where's the Sodium? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dietary Sodium (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hyponatremia (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Salt sensitivity and its implication in clinical practice.
• Article: Simple swaps to eat less salt.
• Article: Action on Salt China.
• Sodium -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• CDC Vital Signs: Reducing Sodium in Children's Diets (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Seniors

• Low Blood Sodium in Older Adults: A Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Cooking without salt (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Low sodium level (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Low-salt diet (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Sodium blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Sodium in diet (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish