By Dr. Jane Smith · Published October 26, 2026 · 13 min read
A low sodium diet limits sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day, the US upper limit, and often to about 1,500 mg, the American Heart Association's ideal for most adults. Because more than 70% of the sodium Americans eat is already in packaged and prepared food before it reaches the table, the diet is mostly about choosing foods and reading labels, not about hiding the salt shaker.
This guide covers how much sodium you need, where it hides, high- and low-sodium food lists with milligrams per serving, what "low sodium" and "reduced sodium" really mean on a label, cooking swaps and a sample day under 1,500 mg. If you want a full week of menus, our 7-day low sodium meal plan puts the same rules into practice.
Important
Medical Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. If you have heart failure, kidney disease or high blood pressure, or take a diuretic or other blood pressure medication, ask your doctor which sodium target is right for you before changing your diet.
How Much Sodium Per Day on a Low Sodium Diet?
Aim for less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day, and work toward 1,500 mg if your doctor recommends it. The major guidelines agree on the direction and differ only slightly on the number.
| Guideline | Daily sodium limit | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 | Less than 2,300 mg | Ages 14 and up |
| Dietary Guidelines, children | Less than 1,200 / 1,500 / 1,800 mg | Ages 1–3 / 4–8 / 9–13 |
| FDA Daily Value | 2,300 mg | The basis of "% DV" on food labels |
| American Heart Association | No more than 2,300 mg, ideally 1,500 mg | Most adults |
| World Health Organization | Less than 2,000 mg (5 g of salt) | Adults |
For context, the AHA says the body needs less than 500 mg of sodium a day to function, while the average American eats about 3,400 mg, according to the FDA. You don't have to reach 1,500 mg on day one: the AHA notes that cutting back by even 1,000 mg a day can improve blood pressure and heart health.
The lowest targets don't fit everyone. The AHA says the 1,500 mg ideal may not apply to competitive athletes, people exposed to major heat stress or some people with heart failure, and the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines add that highly active people may benefit from more sodium to offset sweat losses.
Salt vs. Sodium
Sodium is the mineral; salt is sodium chloride, which is about 40% sodium by weight. One teaspoon of table salt carries 2,325 mg of sodium, according to USDA data, slightly more than a full day's limit.
Labels outside the US often list salt instead of sodium. To convert, multiply grams of salt by 400 to get milligrams of sodium (our conversion, from the 40% figure). That is why the WHO's 5 g of salt equals 2,000 mg of sodium.
Who Should Follow a Low Sodium Diet?
Most adults eat well above 2,300 mg, so most people benefit from cutting back. A stricter, doctor-set target is common for people with high blood pressure, heart failure or chronic kidney disease, because extra sodium raises blood pressure and makes the body hold on to fluid.
The blood pressure effect is consistent and grows with the size of the cut. A 2020 meta-analysis in The BMJ of 133 trials with 12,197 participants found that each 50 mmol drop in daily sodium (about 1,150 mg, our conversion) lowered systolic blood pressure by about 1.1 mm Hg. The effect appeared in people with and without hypertension, and it was larger in older adults and people with higher blood pressure.
Note
What the Research Shows
In a 2023 crossover trial in JAMA, 213 adults aged 50 to 75 ate a high-sodium diet and a very low sodium diet (about 500 mg a day) for one week each. Median systolic pressure was 126 mm Hg in the high-sodium week and 119 mm Hg in the low-sodium week, and 73.4% of participants saw their blood pressure fall. The drop was similar whether or not people had hypertension or took blood pressure medication. The 500 mg diet was a research diet, far stricter than most people need.
Lower is not automatically better in heart failure. In the SODIUM-HF trial of 806 people with chronic heart failure, a diet below 1,500 mg a day did not reduce hospital admissions, emergency visits or deaths over 12 months compared with usual care. If you have heart failure or kidney disease, the right number is the one your care team gives you.
Low Sodium vs. the DASH Diet
A low sodium diet focuses on one nutrient; DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a whole eating pattern that also adds fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The two work best together. In the DASH-Sodium trial of 412 adults, DASH plus low sodium lowered systolic blood pressure by 11.5 mm Hg in people with hypertension compared with a typical high-sodium American diet, more than either change alone. Our DASH diet guide covers the full pattern, and our high blood pressure diet adds potassium, alcohol and weight loss.
Where Sodium Hides: The Biggest Sources
Most sodium is added before you buy the food. In a 2017 Circulation study that collected four detailed 24-hour diet recalls from each of 450 adults in three US regions, sodium added to food outside the home supplied 70.9% of intake.
| Source of sodium | Share of intake |
|---|---|
| Added to commercially processed and restaurant food | 70.9% |
| Naturally present in food | 14.2% |
| Added during home cooking | 5.6% |
| Added at the table | 4.9% |
So the salt shaker accounts for about a tenth of the problem. According to the FDA, citing CDC data, about 40% of the sodium Americans eat comes from just a handful of foods: deli meat sandwiches, pizza, burritos and tacos, soups, savory snacks such as chips and crackers, poultry, pasta mixed dishes, burgers, and egg dishes and omelets.
Three sources surprise most people:
- Bread. In a CDC analysis of 2007–2008 national data, breads and rolls were the single largest source of sodium, at 7.4% of intake. A slice holds only about 140 mg, but 79.9% of people ate bread on a given day.
- Poultry. Fresh chicken and turkey can be packaged with added salt water. The FDA advises checking fresh meat and poultry labels for "salt water" or "saline".
- Restaurants. The same CDC analysis found that restaurants supplied 24.8% of sodium, including 13.6% from fast-food and pizza restaurants.
Salt is not the only sodium on the ingredient list. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium nitrite and sodium benzoate all count toward the label total, and a teaspoon of baking soda alone carries 1,259 mg.
High Sodium Foods List
These common foods are the ones that push most people over the limit, sorted from highest to lowest per typical serving. Condiments, cured meats, cheeses and canned soups are the densest sources; bread and tortillas are modest per serving but eaten several times a day.
| Food | Serving | Sodium | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table salt | 1 tsp | 2,325 mg | 101% |
| Soy sauce | 1 tbsp | 879 mg | 38% |
| Chicken noodle soup, canned | 1 cup prepared | 831 mg | 36% |
| Teriyaki sauce | 1 tbsp | 690 mg | 30% |
| Frozen cheese pizza | 1/3 of a 15-oz pizza | 675 mg | 29% |
| Marinara sauce, jarred | 1/2 cup | 577 mg | 25% |
| Ham, sliced | 2 oz | 456 mg | 20% |
| Bagel, plain | 1 medium | 443 mg | 19% |
| Hot dog, beef | 1 | 424 mg | 18% |
| Bacon, pan-fried | 2 slices | 388 mg | 17% |
| Cottage cheese | 4 oz | 356 mg | 15% |
| Pretzels, salted | 1 oz | 352 mg | 15% |
| American cheese, processed | 1 slice (3/4 oz) | 351 mg | 15% |
| Flour tortilla | 1 large (10-inch) | 344 mg | 15% |
| Feta cheese | 1 oz | 323 mg | 14% |
| Deli turkey breast | 2 slices | 288 mg | 13% |
| Dill pickle | 1 small spear | 283 mg | 12% |
| Salsa, jarred | 2 tbsp | 256 mg | 11% |
| Tuna, canned in water, drained | 3 oz | 210 mg | 9% |
| Ketchup | 1 tbsp | 154 mg | 7% |
| Potato chips, salted | 1 oz | 148 mg | 6% |
| White bread | 1 slice | 142 mg | 6% |
Sodium values calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g data and listed portion weights; % DV is sodium divided by 2,300 mg. Brands vary widely, so the label on your package wins.
Low Sodium Foods List
Whole, unprocessed foods are naturally low in sodium, and most land at or below 5% of the daily value (115 mg) per serving.
| Food | Serving | Sodium |
|---|---|---|
| Air-popped popcorn, unsalted | 1 cup | under 1 mg |
| Almonds, unsalted | 1 oz | 1 mg |
| Banana | 1 small | 1 mg |
| Apple | 1 medium | 2 mg |
| Rolled oats, dry | 1/2 cup | 2 mg |
| Black beans, cooked from dry without salt | 1 cup | 2 mg |
| Butter, unsalted | 1 tbsp | 2 mg |
| Peanut butter, unsalted | 2 tbsp | 5 mg |
| Brown rice, cooked | 1 cup | 8 mg |
| Baked potato, no salt | 1 medium | 17 mg |
| Canned tomatoes, no salt added | 1 cup | 24 mg |
| Broccoli, chopped | 1 cup | 30 mg |
| Sweet potato, baked | 1 medium | 41 mg |
| Celery | 1 large stalk | 51 mg |
| Salmon, cooked | 3 oz | 52 mg |
| Swiss cheese | 1 oz | 53 mg |
| Green peas, frozen, cooked without salt | 1/2 cup | 58 mg |
| Chicken breast, roasted | 3 oz | 63 mg |
| Egg | 1 large | 71 mg |
| Milk, 1% | 1 cup | 107 mg |
| Plain low-fat yogurt | 6 oz | 119 mg |
Sodium values calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g data and listed portion weights.
Two things stand out. Milk, yogurt, eggs and celery contain natural sodium, but still sit comfortably in the low range. And cheese varies more than you might expect: an ounce of Swiss has 53 mg, while the same weight of feta has 323 mg.
Same Food, Less Sodium: Easy Swaps
Many pantry staples come in a no-salt-added or lower-sodium version. Swapping the products you buy every week cuts hundreds of milligrams without changing what you eat.
| Food and serving | Regular | Lower-sodium version |
|---|---|---|
| Soy sauce, 1 tbsp | 879 mg | 434–511 mg (reduced sodium) |
| Canned kidney beans, 1 cup | 655 mg | 300 mg (low sodium) |
| Marinara sauce, 1/2 cup | 577 mg | 38 mg (low sodium) |
| Vegetable juice, 1 cup | 428 mg | 140 mg (low sodium) |
| Pretzels, 1 oz | 352 mg | 71 mg (unsalted) |
| Dill pickle, 1 small spear | 283 mg | 6 mg (reduced sodium) |
| Canned tomatoes, 1 cup | 276 mg | 24 mg (no salt added) |
| Ketchup, 1 tbsp | 154 mg | 3 mg (low sodium) |
| Italian dressing, 1 tbsp | 146 mg | 4 mg (no salt) |
| Peanut butter, 2 tbsp | 136 mg | 5 mg (unsalted) |
| Butter, 1 tbsp | 91 mg | 2 mg (unsalted) |
| Almonds, 1 oz | 66 mg | 1 mg (unsalted) |
Values from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), calculated per listed serving.
Notice the first row. A reduced-sodium soy sauce still carries about a fifth of a day's sodium in one tablespoon, which is why the wording on the label matters.
How to Read a Food Label for Sodium
Check the milligrams and the % Daily Value per serving: the FDA counts 5% DV or less (115 mg) as low and 20% DV or more (460 mg) as high. Then work through the label in this order:
Check the serving size
Read the sodium line
Compare products
Scan the ingredients
The milligram cut-offs are our calculation from the 2,300 mg Daily Value.
Front-of-package claims have fixed legal meanings, set by the FDA:
| Label claim | What it means per serving |
|---|---|
| Salt-free or sodium-free | Less than 5 mg |
| Very low sodium | 35 mg or less |
| Low sodium | 140 mg or less |
| Reduced sodium | At least 25% less than the regular product |
| Light in sodium or lightly salted | At least 50% less than the regular product |
| No salt added or unsalted | No salt added during processing, but not necessarily sodium-free |
Sodium-free, very low sodium and low sodium are fixed ceilings; "reduced" and "light" are relative to the regular product, so they say nothing about the total. A reduced-sodium soy sauce at roughly 500 mg per tablespoon is still a high-sodium food, while no-salt-added canned tomatoes at 24 mg per cup are low by any standard. For the rest of the panel, see our guide on how to read nutrition labels.
Cooking and Shopping Tips to Cut Sodium
The biggest wins come from how you shop and cook, not from the salt shaker:
Drain canned beans
Rinse canned tuna
Buy no-salt-added canned goods
Skip the salt in the cooking water
Make your own dressing
Season with acid and aromatics
Taste before you salt
To see what a recipe you cook often delivers per serving, our free nutrition label generator builds a Nutrition Facts panel, sodium included, from your ingredients and the number of servings.
Salt Substitutes and Specialty Salts
Potassium-based salt substitutes replace part of the sodium chloride with potassium chloride, and the evidence for them is strong. In the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study, 20,995 older adults in rural China with high blood pressure or a past stroke used a blend of 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride for an average of 4.7 years. Compared with regular salt, stroke was 14% lower, major cardiovascular events 13% lower and deaths 12% lower, with no significant rise in serious hyperkalemia (high blood potassium).
The WHO now suggests that adults who use table salt switch to potassium-containing lower-sodium salt substitutes, but notes that high blood potassium may be harmful, especially for people with impaired kidney function. If you have kidney disease or take a medicine that raises potassium, ask your doctor or pharmacist first. For potassium from food rather than a shaker, see our list of potassium-rich foods.
Specialty salts are not a shortcut. The AHA notes that table salt and most sea salts are both about 40% sodium, and kosher salt has less per teaspoon only because its crystals are larger.
Eating Out
Restaurant meals are the hardest part of a low sodium diet, because you can't see the recipe. The FDA's advice: ask for your food to be made without added salt, get sauces and dressings on the side and use less, pick smaller portions or share an entrée, and ask whether nutrition information is available. Our guide to healthy fast food options lists lighter orders at major chains and flags the salty ones.
A Sample Low Sodium Day Under 1,500 mg
A day built mostly from whole foods, with a few packaged items chosen carefully, lands at about 1,300 mg, under the AHA's 1,500 mg ideal.
Sample day: about 1,300 mg sodium
- Breakfast (113 mg): 1/2 cup rolled oats cooked in 1 cup 1% milk, topped with a sliced small banana and 1 tbsp unsalted peanut butter
- Lunch (461 mg): chicken sandwich on 2 slices whole-wheat bread with 3 oz home-roasted chicken breast and 1 oz Swiss cheese, plus a celery stalk and an apple
- Snack (120 mg): 6 oz plain low-fat yogurt and 1 oz unsalted almonds
- Dinner (605 mg): bowl of 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed), 2 tbsp jarred salsa and 1 cup broccoli, finished with lemon juice
- Total: about 1,299 mg
Our estimates, calculated from USDA FoodData Central data; the black bean figure (311 mg) is the drained-and-rinsed value from the 2011 canned-bean study.
Three packaged foods, the bread, beans and salsa, supply 859 mg, about two-thirds of the day, the same pattern the national data show. Swapping the home-roasted chicken for two slices of deli turkey would add about 225 mg. If you are also watching calories while you cut sodium, Caloria, the AI calorie tracker, logs calories, protein, carbs and fat from a photo of each meal; it doesn't count sodium, so the food label stays your sodium tool.
Where to Begin: Packaged Foods First
Start with the foods that carry the most sodium, not with the shaker:
- Know your number: less than 2,300 mg a day, or the lower target your doctor sets.
- Swap your top sources: deli meat, canned soup, sauces, pizza and bread are where the milligrams pile up.
- Read the % DV: 5% or less per serving is low, 20% or more is high, and "reduced sodium" doesn't mean low.
Expect food to taste flat for a while, then less so. In a 1982 study, young adults who kept to a low sodium diet for five months came to prefer less salt in soup and crackers, and salted crackers tasted saltier to them than before. Your taste adjusts to the diet, so it gets easier over the following months.