While a diet high in salt can be detrimental to your health, you actually need some sodium in your daily diet. According to Mayo Clinic, sodium helps you maintain healthy balances of fluid, encourages proper transportation of nerve impulses, and helps your muscles function properly. Diets high in sodium can lead to health conditions like high blood pressure and kidney disease. Sodium is most prevalent in processed foods like luncheon meats, frozen meals and canned soup, which causes the average adult to take in about 3,400 mg of sodium per day. Knowing what a healthy sodium limit is for you can help you cut back and improve your health.
Children
According to Healthy Children, the taste for salty foods is acquired, and the easiest way to keep sodium intake at healthy levels is to restrict children's access to salty foods. When a child's diet is too high in sodium because of foods like boxed macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and chicken nuggets, he may experience high blood pressure. If a child has high blood pressure during childhood, he is at an increased risk for heart disease later in life. Children should consume 1,500 mg of sodium or less per day from food and from the salt shaker.
Healthy Adults
Adults without chronic health conditions need to monitor their salt intake, but they can consume more than those experiencing medical problems. Even healthy adults can experience high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke if their salt intake is high for long periods of time. Mayo Clinic notes that healthy adults should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. This number is the most a healthy adult can eat each day, but less may help promote better health. Limit processed food, choose foods that are labeled as low-sodium, and keep the salt shaker off the dining table to help keep your intake within these limits.
Those With Health Problems
People already experiencing certain health problems must watch their sodium intake more closely to help prevent negative side effects. Mayo Clinic reports that those with high blood pressure, kidney disease or diabetes should restrict their daily sodium intake to 1,500 mg or less. This can be challenging and reading nutrition and ingredient labels can shed additional light on the sodium content of foods. Foods that contain monosodium glutamate, baking soda or sodium nitrites and nitrates contain sodium and should be restricted to keep sodium intake at a healthy level.
Other Restrictions
Other people should use caution when consuming sodium because of an increased risk of the negative effects sodium can have. According to the Mayo Clinic, those over the age of 51 should keep their sodium intake at 1,500 mg or less each day; blacks have an increased risk for the negative effects of sodium as well, and should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day.
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