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  • Page | Last updated: 08 Apr 2021

Defining dietary salt and sodium - dietary recommendations for salt/sodium intake in adults as described by relevant food and health-related organisations

Health Promotion Knowledge Gateway

Note that some organisations give the recommendation for sodium instead of salt. The recommendations are given in grams per day or milligrams per day. Salt can be calculated by multiplying sodium by 2.5.

Source

Dietary recommendation
EFSA 2005 (pdf) a
  • 'The available data are not sufficient to establish an upper level for sodium from dietary sources.'
  • 'It is not possible to determine a threshold level of habitual sodium consumption below which there is unlikely to be any adverse effect on blood pressure.'
WHO 2013 (pdf)
  • A reduction to <2 g/day sodium (5 g/day salt) in adults (≥16 years of age) (strong recommendation).
WCRF/AICR 2016 (pdf)
  • Public health goals: 'Population average consumption of salt from all sources to be less than 5 g (2 g of sodium) a day'
  • Personal recommendations: 'Limit consumption of processed foods with added salt to ensure an intake of less than 6 g (2.4 g sodium) a day'
  • Avoid salt-preserved, salted, or salty foods; preserve foods without using salt (instead use refrigeration, freezing, drying, bottling, canning, and fermentation).
FSAI 2016
  • '… for reducing salt consumption […] target for the adult Irish population is a mean intake of 2.4 g/100 mmol sodium (6 g salt) per day. Whilst this is considered to be an achievable goal for the population at this time, it should not be regarded as an optimal or ideal level of consumption.'
  • '… advice targeted at individual adults should reflect the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for sodium of 1.6 g/70 mmol (4 g salt) per adult per day [which] is sufficient to meet the needs of 97.5% of the population.'
DGE 2016 (pdf)
  • 'The approximate value for salt intake is up to 6 g/day.'
  • Adequate intake for adults is 1500 mg sodium per day.
NNR 2012
  • 'a limitation of sodium intake to about 2.4 g/d – corresponding to about 6 g salt (NaCl) – is feasible at the population level'
  • 'There is a lack of evidence to suggest that sodium requirements during pregnancy and lactation differ significantly from that of non-pregnant women.'
BfR 2011 (pdf)
  • 'The salt intake should be reduced to between 3.5 and a maximum of 6 grams per day.'
SACN 2003 (pdf)
  • 'recommendation for a salt intake of 6g/day (2.4g/100 mmol sodium) for the adult population', for those aged 15 years upwards.
DGAC 2015 (pdf)
  • 'The goals for the general population are: less than 2,300 mg dietary sodium per day (or age-appropriate Dietary Reference Intake amount)'
  • Strong evidence that 'adults who would benefit from blood pressure lowering should combine the DASH dietary pattern with lower sodium intake'.
AHA/ACC 2013
  • Adults who would benefit from lowering blood pressure should lower sodium intake, and 'consume no more than 2400 mg of sodium/d; further reduction of sodium intake to 1500 mg/d can result in even greater reduction in BP; even without achieving these goals, reducing sodium intake by at least 1000 mg/d lowers BP' and 'combine the DASH dietary pattern with lower sodium intake.'
IOM 2013
  • For adults, a tolerable upper intake level (UL) for sodium is 2.3 g (100 mmol)/day (5.8 g of salt).
  • The adequate intake (AI) for sodium for young adults is 1.5 g (65 mmol)/day (3.8 g of salt).
  • 'The AI for sodium for older adults and the elderly is somewhat less, based on lower energy intakes, and is set at 1.3 g (55 mmol)/day for men and women 50 through 70 years of age, and at 1.2 g (50 mmol)/day for those 71 years of age and older.'
EU countries 2018
  • Most countries' food based dietary guidelines recommend limiting salt intake to 5 or 6 g per day. Some countries only recommend a limited salt intake but do not quantify this recommendation.

a DRV for sodium is currently being re-evaluated by EFSA and will be updated here once published.