PREVIEW THIS POST: why we’re recommended a low-sodium diet, what sodium is used for in our body, and how much is too much.

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We’d have a few extra bucks in our pocket if we earned a dollar every time we saw someone hold back from sprinkling more salt on their food!

We don’t blame you if you think sodium is something to be concerned about… we’ve got every health organization telling us to limit our sodium intake in the name of lowering blood pressure or heart disease. Ofcourse it’s possible to overdo salt! We just think the better question is: are we eating enough?

Salt Isn’t Sodium:

We’ve noticed many clients don’t know salt is not sodium — it’s mostly sodium! Similar to how meat is mostly protein but also has carbohydrates and fats too, salt is always a mixture of sodium and other minerals like chloride, iodine, or other naturally occurring minerals. Because salt is mostly sodium and it’s the easiest way for us to get sodium in… you'll definitely catch us using “salt” and “sodium” interchangeably here.

And we really want this post to help you understand sodium (no matter what 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 think you need to get more minerals in so here’s a quick comparison between the two:

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 first time we were ever recommended to “avoid too much sodium” was in the very first USDA Dietary Guidelines published in 1980.

40 years later and the FDA is still attacking 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), even the American Heart Association suggests capping out at no more than 1.5 grams/day, and 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.

Why are they recommending low-sodium? They justify it based on 2 really poor arguments:

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, his theory makes total sense; if we inject loads of sodium, then it’s going to increase our blood volume and therefore our blood pressure — but Dahl used way more sodium than we’d ever reasonably consume as humans! And he also discovered HIGH SALT intakes DID NOT increase blood pressure.
Other studies¹ ² ³ ⁴ that claim higher sodium intake was linked to higher blood pressure which therefore increases your risk of heart disease.
- THE PROBLEM: these studies are “observational” studies which are 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.

Signs of Not Enough Sodium:

We’ve got to remember — 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:

Allows water to actually hydrate our cells
Conducting nerve impulses in our brain and muscles
Produces stomach acid

Without enough sodium, you start releasing hormones like norepinephrine, aldosterone, angiotensin, and renin which make your kidneys hold onto whatever sodium it does get. Meaning: the less sodium you eat… the less you pee out and the more you hold onto! Maybe you’re thinking, “Isn’t that a good thing? If I need sodium, then it’s a good thing my body is holding onto it.” Agreed, it is a beautiful backup plan our body has up it’s sleeve, raising these hormones comes with huge consequences:

High blood pressure — isn’t it ironic the hormones your body excretes when you restrict sodium raises blood pressure (y’know, the very thing we’re told LOW salt reduces the 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 occurred at a daily sodium intake of 3 grams in adults (which is a full gram MORE than the WHO recommendation!).
Hyponatremia: if you’re eating low-sodium and chugging glasses of water to stay hydrated, then you’re diluting your sodium levels even more (link to electrolyte/hydration blog post)
Other subtle signs of low-sodium are brain fog, lethargy, fatigue, low energy, irritability, muscle cramps, insomnia, heartburn, headaches, and weakness (which are all common complaints in our clients who eat healthy but because of the demonization of salt never suspect they’re sodium-deficient).

Salt Doesn’t Dehydrate

We get it, most of us don’t think of salt when we hear the word hydration… most of us think of the water jugs, water bottles, and water fountains we use to meet the “drink 8 glasses of water per day” mark. After all, you’re likely smacking your lips thirsty for water after a bag of salty nuts or chips, why would I want more salt to be hydrated?

So we agree, at first it felt counterintuitive to say salt helps hydrate you when you may be imagining a salt block absorbing every drop of water it touches like a sponge — and that’s kind of the point. We want water to be absorbed! Hydration isn’t simply chugging water. It’s about

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.

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.