Sodium calculator
Add what you ate today and see how the sodium adds up against the 2,000 mg limit, and which foods carry most of it.
The daily limit is the World Health Organization recommendation of 2,000 mg of sodium, equal to 5 g of salt. Food values come from USDA FoodData Central. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere. How we verify our data →
Sodium FAQs
How much sodium a day is too much?
Above 2,000 mg a day, the WHO limit, and the average American eats about 3,400 mg. The American Heart Association sets an ideal of 1,500 mg for people with high blood pressure. One teaspoon of salt is 2,300 mg on its own.
What is the difference between salt and sodium?
Salt is sodium chloride and only 40 percent of it is sodium. Multiply sodium by 2.5 to get salt: 2,000 mg of sodium is 5 g of salt. Labels in the US list sodium; UK and EU labels list salt.
Which everyday foods are the saltiest?
Bread, deli meats, pizza, soups, sauces and cheese carry most of the sodium in a typical day, not the salt shaker. Two slices of bread are about 300 mg, a deli sandwich 1,000 to 1,500 mg, a cup of canned soup 800 mg.
Does cutting salt actually lower blood pressure?
Yes. Cutting sodium by about 1,000 mg a day lowers systolic blood pressure by around 5 mmHg in people with hypertension, and by 1 to 2 mmHg in people with normal pressure. The effect shows within weeks.
Why show sodium per 100 calories?
Because it flags the foods that are salty for what they give you. A pickle is almost all sodium and no calories; a slice of pizza has both. Per 100 calories makes a 20 calorie pickle and a 300 calorie slice comparable.
