Sodium Intake Tracker

Daily sodium intake tracking compares your actual consumption against health authority guidelines, calculates how much of your daily limit each food contributes, and identifies the largest sources in your diet.

Daily intake formula: Total Sodium (mg) = Σ (Food Sodium mg × Number of Servings)

Percentage of daily limit: % of Limit = (Total Sodium ÷ Daily Limit) × 100

Daily limits by health guideline:

• American Heart Association: 1,500 mg/day (ideal for heart health)
• US Dietary Guidelines: 2,300 mg/day (general population maximum)
• WHO: 2,000 mg/day
• Average American actual intake: 3,400 mg/day, 48% above the guideline

What each variable means:

• Sodium vs. salt: sodium is one component of table salt (NaCl); salt is 40% sodium by weight; 2,300 mg sodium = 5.75g salt = about 1 teaspoon
• Hidden sodium: most dietary sodium (70%+) comes not from the salt shaker but from processed foods, restaurant meals, bread, and canned goods
• Hypertension threshold: people with high blood pressure or kidney disease are often advised to stay under 1,500 mg/day
• Potassium balance: high potassium intake (bananas, potatoes, leafy greens) partially counteracts sodium’s blood-pressure-raising effect

Reference: high-sodium foods (mg per typical serving)

The middle column is the figure this calculator uses when you enter a count.

Ranges are wide because brands differ enormously. Two cans of the same soup from different makers can be 400 mg apart, so read the label when you have it and use these midpoints when you do not.

Worked example: Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled (140 mg), 2 slices toast (320 mg), orange juice (0 mg). Lunch: Turkey sandwich, 1 deli serving (600 mg) + 2 slices bread (320 mg) + 1 cheese (185 mg) + condiments (300 mg). Dinner: Grilled chicken (75 mg), canned green beans (400 mg), brown rice (10 mg).

Entered as 4 slices of bread, 1 deli serving, 1 cheese, and 1,225 mg of everything else, the calculator returns 2,650 mg.

• Against the AHA ideal (1,500 mg): 177%
• Against the US Dietary Guidelines (2,300 mg): 115%
• Against WHO (2,000 mg): 133%

Switching the canned green beans (400 mg) for frozen (15 mg) saves 385 mg a day on its own, which is most of the way back under the 2,300 mg line.