How Much Sodium Is Too Much?

Following a low-sodium diet and tracking daily sodium intake have traditionally been priorities mainly for people who suffer from high blood pressure. But recent research suggests that consuming too much sodium might contribute to health and wellness problems that extend far beyond blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Examples…

• Every gram of sodium added to a daily diet increases risk for obesity by 15%—even though sodium contains no calories. That was the conclusion of a recent study by an international team of researchers at Indiana University, Canada’s McGill University and other institutions.
• High dietary salt consumption may increase risk for stomach cancer. This according to a 2022 meta-analysis of 38 earlier studies by researchers in China.
• High-salt diets appear to increase risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to several recent studies.

The link between excessive salt consumption and these and other health issues may be the microbiome. High salt intake is thought to decrease populations of beneficial microbes in the gut—and a decrease in those microbes and the factors they produce has been shown to increase the odds of developing inflammation, obesity, type 2 diabetes and more.

The wide-ranging health risks of consuming too much sodium leads to an obvious question—how much sodium is too much? The answer depends on whom you ask—the World Health Organization suggests that healthy adults keep their daily sodium intake below 2,000 milligrams, while the American Heart Association suggests staying below 2,300 mg/day. But there is a growing consensus that certain people—perhaps those with heart failure or who have suffered a stroke—might need higher sodium intake.

The real challenge: Figuring out how much salt you are consuming. As much as 70% of the sodium in the typical American diet comes from packaged and processed foods, and the obvious sources—salty packaged snacks, fast-food meals and processed meats—are far from the only culprits. There’s a surprising amount of sodium hidden in processed foods that people don’t think of as salty, including condiments, bread and sugary snacks such as cookies. Even the sodas sold in the US often contain a significant amount of sodium. All of this salt from unexpected sources makes it very difficult to accurately track sodium consumption.

The most feasible way to reduce the health risks associated with excessive sodium is to simply cut back as much as possible on the consumption of packaged and heavily processed foods.

Meanwhile, be sure to include potassium-rich foods in your diet—dietary potassium helps offset some of sodium’s health risks. High-potassium foods include beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains and a wide range of fruits and vegetables including leafy greens, avocados, bananas, oranges and apricots. Warning: Excessive potassium intake has health risks, too, so while including potassium-rich foods in your diet is usually healthful, don’t take a potassium supplement or use a potassium-based salt substitute unless your doctor recommends doing so.