Salt advice usually focuses on the shaker, which is the least important part of the picture. In most modern diets, roughly three-quarters of sodium arrives already inside food that does not taste especially salty.
The numbers, plainly
General guidance is under 5 g of salt a day, which is about 2 g of sodium. Labels use both, which causes endless confusion:
| If the label says | Multiply by | To get |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium 1 g | 2.5 | Salt 2.5 g |
| Salt 2.5 g | 0.4 | Sodium 1 g |
Where it actually hides
- Bread. Rarely tastes salty, eaten daily, and often the single biggest contributor.
- Cheese, olives, pickles and cured meats. Preserved by salt, so it is structural rather than added.
- Ready meals, soups and sauces. Including "healthy" ones — check the label rather than the front of the pack.
- Restaurant and takeaway food. Typically much saltier than the same dish cooked at home.
- Snacks. Crisps and salted nuts are obvious; breakfast cereals are not.
Which is why removing the shaker feels virtuous and changes little. The leverage is in the first three rows.
Cutting back without bland food
- Reduce gradually. Taste receptors adapt over a few weeks; a slow reduction is barely noticeable, while a sudden one makes everything taste like cardboard.
- Replace salt with acid and aroma. Lemon, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, garlic, herbs, pepper, cumin. Acid in particular makes food taste seasoned.
- Salt at the end, not throughout. Salt on the surface hits the tongue directly, so you need less for the same effect.
- Cook more often. The single largest reduction available to most people, without any label reading.
Read one label a week
Check the salt content of the bread, cheese and sauce you buy most often. Three labels usually explain most of your intake, and swapping one product can move the whole day.
Kiva's note
Salt also explains a lot of overnight scale jumps. If yesterday was salty, today's number is water — read the weekly average instead.
Who needs to be more careful
People with high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or liver disease often need specific sodium targets set by a doctor. Conversely, athletes sweating heavily in the heat and people on certain medications may need more, not less. Do not make large changes on your own if any of these apply to you.
Frequently asked questions
How much salt should I eat per day?
General guidance for adults is under 5 g of salt a day, which is about 2 g of sodium — roughly a level teaspoon of salt in total, including what is already in the food you buy.
Is sea salt healthier than table salt?
No meaningful difference for health. Both are largely sodium chloride; trace minerals in sea salt are present in amounts too small to matter, and the sodium content per gram is broadly similar.
Does cutting salt lower blood pressure?
Reducing sodium lowers blood pressure on average, with larger effects in people who already have high blood pressure. Individual responses vary, and anyone on blood pressure medication should make changes with their doctor.
Keep reading
How much water do you need a day?
Where the eight-glasses rule came from, what really sets your needs, and the one check that beats every formula.
Why the scale jumps two kilos overnight
Two kilos overnight is never fat. Salt, carbs, training and your cycle all move body water in predictable ways.