The War on Salt

WHAT’S AHEAD: why the USDA recommends low-sodium intake, what sodium is used for in our body, why amount matters, and how much is too much.

If we had $1.00 every time we saw people hold back from sprinkling more salt on their food or say they avoid salty foods, we’d have an extra few hundred bucks in the bank. We absolutely do not blame you for thinking sodium is something to be concerned about since we’ve got every “health” agency recommending we limit our sodium intake in the name of lowering blood pressure and less heart disease.

Ofcourse it’s possible to overdo salt (as with anything) — we think the better question is: are we eating enough?

A Note on Salt vs Sodium:

Salt is not just sodium — it’s mostly sodium. Similar to how meat is mostly protein but also has carbohydrates and fats too. Whether we’re talking about refined or unrefined salt (see note below), salt is always a mixture of sodium and other minerals whether it’s chloride, iodine, or other naturally occurring minerals. Since salt is mostly sodium, and since it’s the easiest source of sodium, don’t hate us if we use “salt” and “sodium” interchangeably. But there is a difference.

Our focus is on sodium, no matter which type of salt you use — but the difference between refined vs unrefined salt isn’t complicated and could be a super simple upgrade if you’re looking to make one and get more minerals in:

Refined Salt — also known as white salt, table salt, or iodized salt is made from salt mines or seabeds. The salt is purified to remove minerals, enriched with iodine, and anti-caking agents are added to make it come out of your salt shaker seamlessly.

Unrefined Salt — also known as himalayan salt, sea salt, celtic, grey, beige, pink, or black salt is made from the same salt mines or seabeds. The salt is not purified leaving behind minerals that give it’s unique color. Read the label and ask companies to make sure anti-caking agents aren’t used.

The Low-Sodium Recommendation:

The very first USDA Dietary Guidelines were published in 1980 — it was the very first time we were recommended to “avoid too much sodium” in the name of reducing blood pressure and risk of heart disease.

Today, the FDA continues to attack salt, recommends 2.3 grams/day, strongly suggests food companies and restaurants reduce the sodium in their foods since we get most of our sodium from the foods we’re eating (NOT the salt shaker at home), and the American Heart Association also suggests no more than 1.5 grams/day.

They suggest it for a few reasons:

Lewis Dahl: his research in the 1960s and 70s showed giving rats 150x the human-equivalent daily dose of sodium gave them high blood pressure.
- THE PROBLEM: physiologically this makes sense that if we inject loads of sodium, it will increase your blood volume and therefore your blood pressure. Also, Dahl used way more sodium than we’d ever reasonably consume as humans. And lastly, Dahl also discovered HIGH salt intakes DID NOT increase blood pressure (more on blood pressure in a sec).
Observational studies¹ ² ³ ⁴ showed higher sodium intake was linked to high blood pressure, which increases your risk of heart disease.
- THE PROBLEM: these studies cherry-picked data and made irrational assumptions. More importantly, “observational” data is simply that, observational; they serve as a hypothesis to look further into, but didn’t do anything to actually prove salt was the cause of high blood pressure or heart disease.

On top of that, the World Health Organization also just published a report in 2023 urging governments worldwide to reduce our sodium intake to no more than 2 grams/day.

For context, we’re consuming about 3.4 grams/day on average.

The Dangers of Low-Sodium:

First of all, we’ve gotta get something straight — sodium is not optional. It’s not some kind of toxin, it’s essential. Even people in the low sodium camp aren’t recommending zero sodium.

Why our body needs sodium:

Allow water to actually hydrate our cells
Conducting nerve impulses in our brain
Produces stomach acid

Without enough sodium, your body goes into sodium-retention mode to conserve whatever sodium it can: you start releasing hormones like norepinephrine, aldosterone, angiotensin, and renin that help your kidneys retain sodium. Meaning: the less sodium you eat, the less you pee out. While this sodium-retention mode is a beautiful backup plan, retaining sodium with these hormones comes with huge consequences:

High blood pressure — IRONIC, RIGHT? The hormones your body excretes when you restrict sodium raise blood pressure — y’know, the very thing we’re told LOW salt reduces risk of.
Osteoporosis: your bones are reservoirs of sodium, so when you don’t get enough sodium from food, your body breaks down bone to maintain sodium levels in the blood. This has even occurred at a daily sodium intake of 3 grams in adults — which is a full gram MORE than the WHO recommendation!
Hyponatremia: when you combine low-sodium with excessive water intake (link to electrolyte/hydration blog)
Then there are more subtle symptoms like the brain fog, lethargy, fatigue, low energy, irritability, muscle cramps, insomnia, headaches, and weakness so common in folks on whole foods who aren’t getting enough sodium (but thanks to the war on salt, sodium-deficiency is rarely ever a suspect).

Salt for Blood Pressure & Heart Health

This paper-thin case has been used for decades to justify low-sodium recommendations. Today they recommend capping daily sodium intake at 2.3 grams—an intake likely to cause sodium deficiency in most people, particularly athletes.

The Dangers of Low-Sodium:

For starters, we’ve gotta set the record straight — sodium is not optional. It’s not some kind of toxin, it’s essential. Even people in the low sodium camp aren’t recommending zero sodium. Why our body needs sodium:

Allow water to actually hydrate our cells
Conducting nerve impulses in our brain
Produces stomach acid

Without enough sodium, your body goes into sodium-retention mode to conserve whatever sodium it can: you start releasing hormones like norepinephrine, aldosterone, angiotensin, and renin that help your kidneys retain sodium. Meaning: the less sodium you eat, the less you pee out. While this sodium-retention mode is a beautiful backup plan, retaining sodium with these hormones comes with huge consequences:

High blood pressure — IRONIC, RIGHT? The hormones your body excretes when you restrict sodium raise blood pressure — y’know, the very thing we’re told LOW salt reduces risk of.
Osteoporosis: your bones are reservoirs of sodium, so when you don’t get enough sodium from food, your body breaks down bone to maintain sodium levels in the blood. This has even occurred at a daily sodium intake of 3 grams in adults — which is a full gram MORE than the WHO recommendation!
Hyponatremia: when you combine low-sodium with excessive water intake (link to electrolyte/hydration blog)
Then there are more subtle symptoms like the brain fog, lethargy, fatigue, low energy, irritability, muscle cramps, insomnia, headaches, and weakness so common in folks on whole foods who aren’t getting enough sodium (but thanks to the war on salt, sodium-deficiency is rarely ever a suspect).

ut thanks to the war on salt, sodium-deficiency is rarely ever a suspect).

The problem? The hormones also raise your blood pressure. This hypertensive action likely explains the increased blood pressures at lower salt intakes in the Framingham data.

Unfortunately, these hormones also raise blood pressure. Why do you think sodium restriction is linked to elevated blood pressure in healthy people? It’s those pesky hormones. This seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Welcome to complex systems!

Based on the data I’ve been summarizing—and my personal experience speaking with thousands of health-conscious people—the sweet spot is between 4 and 6 grams of sodium per day. And that’s just a baseline. If you’re active, sweaty, eat a low-carb diet, practice intermittent fasting, or some combination of these factors, you may need much more!

You may have heard of keto flu—it’s characterized by a lot of the symptoms I listed above. Yeah, that’s typically just a sodium issue.

I’m not saying sodium is a cure-all. It’s not. But most people—especially active, health-conscious folks—need more salt to feel and perform their best.

Why We’re Recommended Low-Sodium

Lewis Dahl was a research scientist who published a number of papers in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, he discovered that rats with certain genes—now called “Dahl rats”—would develop high blood pressure at high salt intakes.

Dahl also found a link between sodium and hypertension in human populations. The data was observational, however, and Dahl puzzled over the fact that many individuals on high salt diets did not have high blood pressure.

Dahl’s findings were used, in part, to justify 1980 US Dietary Guidelines that admonished the public to “avoid too much sodium.” These guidelines, however, didn’t say how much salt one should avoid.

This has changed. Today the USDA recommends capping sodium at 2.3 grams per day to reduce the risk of hypertension and heart disease. The American Heart Association (AHA) is even more bearish on salt, advising you to stay under 1.5 grams per day. For reference, the average American consumes about 3.4 grams of sodium per day.

Next is the fun part where we dive into the evidence. Read on.

The US Dietary Guidelines were first published in 1980. There were a few good recommendations (like encouraging sugar avoidance), but the document also admonished us to avoid fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and—yes—salt.

The anti-salt edict was based mostly on research from the 1960s. Back then, a scientist named Lewis Dahl found that giving rats about 150 times the human-equivalent daily dose of sodium gave them high blood pressure. His findings made sense. A huge hit of sodium will raise blood volume and blood pressure, but it says nothing about normal human intakes of salt.

Along with Dahl’s data, the FDA also found a few observational data points to support the “salt is bad for blood pressure” hypothesis.[*][*][*]

This paper-thin case has been used for decades to justify low-sodium recommendations. Today they recommend capping daily sodium intake at 2.3 grams—an intake likely to cause sodium deficiency in most people, particularly athletes.

Is It The Salt — or Sugar?

Similarly, sodium isn’t the causative factor in many health studies. Yes, the modern diet is salty, but it’s also sugary and hyperpalatable. People who eat an ultra-processed diet full of packaged foods and refined sugar tend to consume the most sodium. It’s no secret that overeating refined foods leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and many other health issues that increase cardiovascular mortality.

Processed foods contribute about 70% of US Americans’ sodium intake. When you ditch processed foods in favor of a healthy Paleo or whole foods diet, you significantly reduce your sodium intake.

Sodium-deficiency is commonly the culprit, but thanks to the war on salt is rarely ever a suspect.