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Daily Sodium Target Calculator

Pick your health goal to see a recommended daily sodium target and salt equivalent.

How it is calculated

This is a lookup, not a personalised calculation. Each goal maps to a fixed daily sodium ceiling: General = 2,300 mg, Heart-healthy = 2,000 mg and Hypertension = 1,500 mg. The salt equivalent is then salt (g) = sodium (mg) × 2.5 ÷ 1000, which uses the usual rule of thumb that salt is about 40% sodium by weight. The result is a limit to stay under, not an amount to aim for. Body weight, age, activity level and sweat losses do not change the figure, and the tool gives the same answer whatever weight you enter. A goal outside the three options gives no result. This is general information and not medical advice.

Worked example

You pick the Hypertension goal. The tool looks up its ceiling of 1,500 mg/day of sodium. Converting to salt: 1,500 × 2.5 ÷ 1000 = 3.75, shown as 3.75 g salt/day, roughly 0.6 of a teaspoon if a teaspoon of table salt is taken as about 6 g. For comparison, the General goal gives 2,300 mg and 5.75 g salt, and Heart-healthy gives 2,000 mg and 5.00 g salt.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Comparing a label's salt figure with the sodium target. Labels may list sodium in mg or salt in g; 1,500 mg of sodium corresponds to 3.75 g of salt, not 1.5 g.
  • Expecting body weight, age or exercise to change the answer. They do not; the goal alone selects the limit.
  • Treating the number as a goal to reach. It is a ceiling, and most people with a medical condition should follow the figure their own clinician gives them.
  • Counting only the salt you add at the table. Much of the daily sodium comes from bread, sauces, processed meats, cheese and ready meals, so add up packaged foods as well.
  • Mixing the goals up: the lowest figure belongs to Hypertension (1,500 mg), not to the Heart-healthy option (2,000 mg).

Sources

About this calculator

Sodium regulates fluid balance and nerve signaling, but most diets deliver far more than the body needs. The World Health Organization recommends adults keep intake below 2,000 mg/day (about 5 g of salt), while the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and FDA use a 2,300 mg/day ceiling, and the American Heart Association sets a stricter ideal limit of 1,500 mg/day for most adults, especially those managing blood pressure.

Because sodium is almost always discussed alongside table salt, the two are easy to convert between: salt is roughly 40% sodium by weight, so 1 teaspoon of table salt (about 6 g) contains roughly 2,300 to 2,400 mg of sodium. Matching a target to your health goal — general wellness, blood pressure management, or a heart-healthy target — gives a concrete daily milligram ceiling and its salt-shaker equivalent, which is useful when reading nutrition labels that list sodium rather than salt.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Food labels do not always use the unit this tool leads with. Some show sodium in milligrams and others show salt in grams, and the conversion is a factor of 2.5, so a label reading 0.5 g of salt holds about 200 mg of sodium. Most dietary sodium comes from packaged and restaurant food rather than the shaker. If a clinician gave you a personal target, follow that instead. Which goal do you compare your intake against?

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