Know what you're putting in your body.

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BONE HEALTH & STRENGTH

Sodium

Na — Element #11

also known as Sodium chloride, Table salt, Sodium bicarbonate, Sodium citrate

An essential mineral the body uses to regulate fluid balance, blood pressure, nerve signaling, and muscle contraction. Sodium isn't bad — it's necessary. The modern problem isn't sodium itself, it's where most of it comes from: processed and restaurant food, where the body's needs and the food industry's defaults don't match. Salting your own cooking is rarely the issue.

Role in the body Primary extracellular cation; maintains osmotic balance, blood volume, and membrane potential for nerve and muscle function

Recommended daily intake

Adults Adequate Intake · 1,500 mg
Adults Chronic Disease Reduction Target · 2,300 mg
Typical Us Intake · 3,400+ mg (well above target)

Upper intake limit

No formal upper limit; chronic disease reduction target is 2,300 mg/day for adults

Signs of deficiency

Rare from inadequate diet alone
Headache, nausea, confusion
Muscle cramps and weakness
Most often caused by medications (diuretics), excessive sweating without replacement, or overhydration

Essential for nerve signal transmission
Required for muscle contraction, including the heart
Regulates fluid balance inside and outside cells
Works in partnership with potassium — the two minerals balance each other
Critical during exercise, hot weather, or illness with fluid loss

Active in Na⁺ ion.

Most people in modern Western diets consume too much sodium — but about 70% comes from processed and restaurant food, not the salt shaker

Excess sodium contributes to high blood pressure, particularly in people with salt-sensitive hypertension

Excess sodium increases risk of stroke, kidney disease, and stomach cancer

Skip very-low-sodium diets without medical supervision — sodium is genuinely necessary, and over-restriction can cause low sodium (hyponatremia)

Salt substitutes (potassium chloride) can deliver large amounts of potassium quickly — use cautiously with kidney disease or potassium-affecting medications

Endurance athletes can develop dangerously low sodium from overhydration during long events

The fix is rarely 'eat less salt' — it's usually 'eat less processed food and salt your own cooking'

NIH ODS — Sodium · MedlinePlus — Sodium in diet · Britannica — Sodium

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