How the mineral helps your body function
People often wonder if sodium is salt. Sodium and salt are not the same thing, but sodium is one component of table salt. Calcium Chloride Absorb Moisture
Sodium is an essential mineral that plays an important role in the body. Although it is important for optimal health, consuming too much has been linked to health problems including hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, and kidney stones.
Sodium occurs naturally in some foods and different forms are added during cooking or manufacturing for flavor, texture, or as a preservative.
This article discusses the difference between sodium and salt, as well as the function of sodium in our body, the risks of too much sodium, and how to reduce sodium in your diet.
It’s a common misconception that "sodium" and "salt" are the same thing; in fact, the words are often used interchangeably. There are important differences between the two, however.
Although there are other types of salt, when people talk about salt in food, they're usually referring to table salt. Table salt is the crystal-like chemical compound sodium chloride.
"Sodium" refers to the essential mineral sodium, which is a component of sodium chloride. It plays an important role in certain physiologic functions and is essential for keeping body fluids balanced. The body doesn't make sodium, so you have to obtain it from the foods you eat.
Besides sodium chloride, other substances that contain sodium are commonly found in food. Monosodium glutamate, for example, is a flavor enhancer that is often added to the food we eat. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is added to baked goods to improve texture, and sodium nitrate is used as a preservative.
Table salt is made up of 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Table salt is the main source of sodium in most people's diets. This is why nutritional guidelines recommend limiting salt. Other forms of sodium do contribute to your total intake, however.
Table salt is a combination of the mineral elements sodium and chloride. Broken down by weight, sodium makes up approximately 40% of table salt.
Your body takes in sodium through the foods you eat and eliminates extra sodium in perspiration and urine. The role of sodium in overall health is to help cells and organs function properly by regulating blood pressure, supporting muscular contraction, and keeping nerve impulses running smoothly. It’s one of the electrolytes responsible for maintaining a healthy amount of fluids in the body.
Too much or too little sodium can cause some of those bodily processes to malfunction. The body has mechanisms for monitoring how much sodium it’s taken in, and how much it needs to get rid of through urine.
The body does not produce its own sodium—it is only acquired from food. Unlike other nutrients such as calcium or vitamin D, it is rarely necessary to take sodium supplements. The sodium supplied by a normal diet is typically adequate.
Sodium is naturally present in foods like celery, beets, and milk. It’s also added to many packaged foods during manufacturing—often in amounts that are considered too high. Restaurant meals and fast foods are also typically high in sodium.
In fact, most of the sodium we take in comes from eating packaged, processed, and restaurant foods—not from the salt we add to food when cooking or eating at the dinner table. Federal health agencies estimate that more than 70% of the sodium Americans take in is hidden in those processed or packaged foods.
As an added ingredient in packaged products, sodium is used for thickening, enhancing flavor, and preserving foods. It’s also used to prevent microbial growth that would cause food to spoil or make people get sick.
Other potential sources of sodium include drinking water and certain medications, such as acetaminophen and antacids. If you’re concerned that your over-the-counter drug may factor in to your overall sodium intake, your healthcare provider will be able to tell you if any of the medicine you take is potentially problematic.
More than 40% of the sodium Americans get comes from the following foods:
Other sources high in sodium include:
Consuming excessive amounts of sodium can be a risk factor for high blood pressure in some people, which can lead to serious health issues, such as heart disease and stroke.
To avoid those risks, experts recommend most healthy adults take in no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day; 1,500 mg per day is even better. For some context, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that the average American consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium per day—much more than is generally recommended.
Since most diets are too high in sodium, it’s important to pay attention to how much salt and added sodium are present in your food—especially in processed foods like pizza, deli meats, soups, salad dressings, and cheese. But as experts point out, you can’t always count on your taste buds to sound the alarm. Keep in mind that foods high in sodium don’t always taste salty, so watch out for sweet offenders like cereals and pastries too.
Hyponatremia requires close monitoring by a medical team. Sometimes medical intervention is needed, but it's important that sodium is carefully and gradually repleted. Overcorrecting too rapidly can be harmful.
There are many ways to reduce sodium at the grocery store, at home, and when eating out:
Roughly 90% of Americans ages 2 and older consume too much sodium and don’t even realize it, which can be bad for your health. It's a good idea to check with your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about your sodium intake and how it may be affecting your health.
In the meantime, you can become aware of how much sodium you’re consuming by actively seeking out lower-sodium foods, checking the Nutrition Facts labels and ingredient lists on packaged foods, and cooking at home more often—just try to keep the salt shaker use to a minimum.
That the FDA has been working with the food industry to gradually reduce sodium levels in food in the short and long term. While there’s no quick fix, federal regulators are aiming for a broad reduction in the next several years.
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Medline Plus. Fluid and electrolyte balance. Oct 1, 2020.
Medline Plus. Low blood sodium. Apr 8, 2019.
Food and Drug Administration. Sodium in your diet. Apr 2, 2020.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About sodium.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.
Health.gov. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2105-2020.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Salt.
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Food and Drug Administration. FDA issues draft guidance to food industry for voluntarily reducing sodium in processed and commercially prepared food. May 31, 2016.
By Cristina Mutchler Cristina Mutchler is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience in national media, specializing in health and wellness content.
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