Daily Sodium Limit — 2,300 mg, and Why 1,500 Is Better

The federal ceiling is less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day from age 14 — the figure used by the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines, by the FDA’s Daily Value, and as the chronic-disease threshold in the Dietary Reference Intakes. The American Heart Association accepts that ceiling and adds a target under it: 1,500 mg. The tool below shows the World Health Organization limit of 2,000 mg; the US rulers are laid out beneath it.

Six figures, and what each one is for

Source	Figure	What kind of number
Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030	Less than 2,300 mg/day, ages 14 and up	Federal dietary advice
DRI Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Intake (2019)	Reduce intake if above 2,300 mg/day	A reduce-if-above threshold, not a requirement
DRI Adequate Intake (2019)	1,500 mg/day for adults	The amount considered sufficient
American Heart Association	2,300 mg ceiling, 1,500 mg optimal	A cardiovascular target
FDA Nutrition Facts label	2,300 mg Daily Value	The basis of the %DV column
WHO (shown in the tool above)	2,000 mg/day	International population target

The 1,500 mg figure appears twice for different reasons, which is worth untangling. In the DRIs it is the Adequate Intake — the amount the body needs, the floor. For the AHA it is the optimal goal — the amount below which blood pressure benefit is greatest. They coincide numerically and mean different things, and neither is a deficiency risk in practice: almost nobody in the US eats too little sodium.

The 2019 DRI review also did something unusual: it declined to set a tolerable upper intake level for sodium at all, and published a Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Intake instead. A CDRR is phrased as an instruction rather than a limit — reduce intakes if above 2,300 mg/day — because the evidence supports benefit from reducing, without identifying a point of toxicity.

Children get lower numbers

The Dietary Guidelines and the DRI CDRR agree on the pediatric steps:

Age	Limit
1 to 3 years	Less than 1,200 mg/day
4 to 8 years	Less than 1,500 mg/day
9 to 13 years	Less than 1,800 mg/day
14 and older	Less than 2,300 mg/day

The 2025–2030 edition adds one qualifier that earlier editions did not: sodium and electrolytes are essential for hydration, and highly active individuals may benefit from increased sodium intake to offset sweat losses. That is a real exception, and it is written for athletes and heavy sweaters, not as general permission.

The label reports one mineral, the shaker holds a compound

Table salt is sodium chloride: roughly 40 percent sodium, 60 percent chloride by weight, according to the AHA. So a teaspoon of salt carries about 2,300 mg of sodium — the whole daily ceiling in one measure.

Nutrition Facts labels report sodium, not salt, and that is the number to total across the day. The FDA’s reading rule applies here in the restrictive direction: 5% DV or less per serving is low in sodium, 20% DV or more is high, and you are aiming to finish the day under 100% DV.

Where it actually comes from

Over 70 percent of the sodium Americans eat comes from packaged, prepared and restaurant food, per both the FDA and the AHA — not from the saltshaker. The AHA puts average US intake at about 3,400 mg a day, roughly 50 percent above the ceiling.

That is why cooking without salt disappoints people: it addresses the smallest share. Deli meats, bread, pizza, soups, sauces, snack foods and canned goods carry the load. The 2025–2030 Guidelines frame it the same way, telling readers to avoid highly processed foods that are high in sodium rather than to police the shaker.

The other half of the blood pressure equation is potassium, which promotes sodium excretion — see the daily potassium intake numbers, and the blood pressure units conversion page if your readings come from more than one device. The added sugar ceiling behaves the same way, with a federal number and a stricter AHA one: daily sugar limit.

Kidney disease is a separate conversation

NIDDK explains the mechanism plainly: too much sodium makes the body retain fluid, which raises blood pressure and causes swelling, putting stress on kidneys and heart. It does not publish a single figure for chronic kidney disease — it tells patients to determine their sodium limit with a dietitian or clinician.

One trap belongs here rather than on a general page: salt substitutes are commonly potassium chloride, and NIDDK specifically warns CKD patients away from them. Swapping a sodium problem for a potassium problem is not an improvement when the kidney cannot clear either.

This content is informational and does not replace evaluation by a physician or registered dietitian.