Sodium

Also called: Salt

On this page

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

Get the Scoop on Sodium and Salt (American Heart Association)
Lowering Salt in Your Diet (Food and Drug Administration)
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)

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)

Find an Expert

Children

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

Older Adults

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

Topic Image

Stay Connected

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Sodium is the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on Sodium

Disclaimers

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines.