Health bodies agree on a number most of us overshoot: about 5 g of salt a day for an adult, roughly a level teaspoon. The catch is that most of it never touches your salt shaker. It is already in the bread, sauces, cheese and ready meals you buy. Here is how to see where it hides, and how to read a label so you can budget it.
Salt is made of sodium and chloride. Sodium is the part that matters for blood pressure, but labels sometimes list only sodium. To get salt, multiply sodium by 2.5. So 2,000 mg of sodium is 5 g of salt, and 1 g of salt holds 400 mg of sodium.
The advice varies a little by body. The WHO recommends under 2,000 mg of sodium (about 5 g of salt) a day for adults. EFSA, the EU's food safety authority, sets 2.0 g of sodium a day as a safe and adequate intake. UK health services give a maximum of 6 g of salt a day for adults, with lower limits for children (2 g at ages 1 to 3, 3 g at 4 to 6, 5 g at 7 to 10). All of them say that most people eat more. The WHO puts the global average at about 11 g.
Values are rough, typical figures for the portion shown. Brands differ by two or three times, so your own labels beat this list. The teaspoon of salt in the shaker counts too.
Notice how a few items do most of the work: a bowl of tinned soup, a stock cube or a spoon of soy sauce can use up about half your budget without tasting that salty. And salt you add yourself comes on top. A pinch is roughly 0.3 g.
Labels list salt (or sodium) per 100 g, and often per portion. The portion line is what you actually eat, so use it when it is realistic. If you only have the per-100 g figure, scale it by what is on your plate. In the UK scheme, more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g counts as high, and 0.3 g or less counts as low. Try your own numbers:
Formula: salt (g) = sodium (g) × 2.5. Salt in your portion = amount per 100 g × grams eaten ÷ 100. If the label gives sodium in mg, divide by 1,000 first.
Most salt is already in the food when you buy it. Compare labels, and you can cut a lot without touching the shaker.
Salt is not a "bad" nutrient. You need some sodium, and the aim is a sensible budget rather than zero. Researchers still debate the best exact target, though the link between high intake and higher blood pressure is well established.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have high blood pressure, kidney or heart disease, take blood pressure or diabetes medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have had an eating disorder, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing how you eat. Also avoid salt substitutes containing potassium unless a doctor agrees, as they are not suitable for everyone.