Daily Sodium Target Calculator

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 39% sodium by weight, so 1 teaspoon of table salt (about 6 g) contains close to 2,300 mg of sodium. Matching a target to your health goal — general wellness, blood pressure management, or heart-failure care — gives a concrete daily milligram ceiling and its salt-shaker equivalent, which is useful when reading nutrition labels that list sodium rather than salt.