How much sodium (salt) is too much for my heart?

Sodium is a mineral that's a basic component of table salt, which is 40% sodium and 60% chloride. The human body needs sodium to operate properly: It's an electrolyte that helps control the body's balance of water, and it plays a crucial role in the function of all of the body's cells. 

Sodium is removed from the body by the kidneys. However, if there is excess sodium in the bloodstream, the sodium pulls additional water into blood vessels. This can be a big problem for people who have diseases like high blood pressure or heart failure because it can exacerbate those diseases.

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If you're like the vast majority of Americans, your sodium consumption is too high. The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium—about one teaspoon of salt—daily. (And about 6 in 10 adults should limit themselves to 1,500 milligrams a day.) Unfortunately, most of us take in 3,400 mg of sodium every day. According to the CDC, 90% of Americans eat more salt than the dietary guidelines recommend—including 98% of men.

Here's how teaspoons of salt translate to milligrams of sodium:

• 1/4 teaspoon salt = 575 mg sodium

• 1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,150 mg sodium

• 3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,725 mg sodium

• 1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium

Where does all that sodium come from? Not just your kitchen salt shaker. The staples of the American diet, meaning processed foods and takeout, are rife with sodium. According to the AHA, 70% of the sodium we consume comes from packaged, processed, or restaurant foods (AHA, 2018). 

For example, a large order of McDonald's fries has 350 mg of sodium. A footlong Spicy Italian sandwich at Subway has 2,480 mg. An order of buffalo wings from TGI Friday's can have over 4,000 mg. And your Chinese takeout order can pack up to 7,000 mg of sodium per meal (Januzzi, 2018)!

Only 15% of the average American's sodium intake occurs naturally in foods, and just 11% is added during cooking or eating, the AHA says.

Following a lower sodium diet can improve your heart health if you have a disease like hypertension or heart failure. Here are some easy ways to keep your sodium levels in a healthy range.

Read food labels

Check Nutrition Facts labels on packaged and processed foods. In ingredients lists, look for words with "sodium," "salt," or "soda" in their name.

Many chain restaurants have nutritional information on their websites. If you have favorite restaurant dishes, you make a habit of eating, check out the sodium content. It might shock you. We might expect foods like french fries to be high in sodium, but restaurants are known to sneak salt into foods you wouldn't necessarily expect as a way to add flavor.

Avoid foods high in sodium

• Pizza. You were probably under no illusions that pizza was a health food. But one serving of a Domino's medium crunchy thin crust pizza with extra cheese has 590 mg of sodium, and one slice of a large Meat Lover's pizza from Pizza Hut has 1,180 mg. Frozen varieties aren't much better. 

• Cold cuts. Deli or prepackaged meats can have as much as 1,050 mg of sodium per serving, the AHA says. 

• Frozen meals. Heat-and-eat TV dinners and frozen entrees can be packed with calories, fat, and sodium, often containing from 700 mg to 1,800 mg per serving. 

• Bread. Breads are one of those stealthy sources of salt you'd likely never expect. Recently, the World Action on Salt and Health analyzed more than 2,000 varieties of bread in 32 countries. It found that one brand in Canada was "saltier than seawater." And the U.S. had nothing to brag about: The researchers found that Pepperidge Farm's Hearty Sliced white bread, had 1.4 grams of salt per two slices and Whole Foods' white sandwich bread had 1.37 grams. Translation: Every slice has as much sodium as about 21 potato chips, said the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI, 2017). 

• Canned soups. Soup may seem to be the ultimate wholesome homemade food, but makers of the canned varieties don't have your best interest at heart: One cup of Campbell's Homestyle Chicken Soup has only 130 calories—but 1,580 mg of sodium. 

• Canned vegetables. Veggies are often canned using excess amounts of salt. A 1/2-cup serving of canned peas has 310 mg of sodium. The same serving size of fresh peas has 3.5 mg. 

• Sauces. According to the USDA, just one tablespoon of regular soy sauce has 879 mg of sodium. And it's a similar story with other bottled sauces: two tablespoons of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce packs 340 mg. Look for varieties with less sodium.

• Chicken products. Lean, skinless chicken is one of the healthiest things you can eat. But branching out into processed products like chicken nuggets and chicken fingers can get you in trouble—one of the things they're processed with is salt. For example, one serving of Tyson chicken nuggets has 470 mg of sodium.

Try the DASH diet

The DASH diet (for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is an eating plan designed to lower blood pressure or keep it in a healthy range. It's a low-sodium eating plan that's a variation on the Mediterranean Diet — it includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and heart-healthy fats.

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Every article on Health Guide goes through rigorous fact-checking by our team of medical reviewers. Our reviewers are trained medical professionals who ensure each article contains the most up-to-date information, and that medical details have been correctly interpreted by the writer.

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Current version

November 03, 2019

Written by

Michael Martin

Fact checked by

Mike Bohl, MD, MPH, ALM

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About the medical reviewer

Mike Bohl, MD, MPH, ALM

Dr. Mike is a licensed physician and a former Director, Medical Content & Education at Ro.