Sodium & Salt Intake Calculator
How does your sodium compare with the WHO limit?
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WHO recommendation
Less than 2000 mg sodium (about 5 g, or one teaspoon, of salt) per day for adults.
Sodium & Salt Intake Calculator
Too much sodium raises blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke. The World Health Organization recommends adults stay under 2000 mg of sodium a day — roughly 5 grams, or one teaspoon, of salt. Enter your estimated daily sodium (add up the values from nutrition labels) to convert it to a salt equivalent and see what percentage of the WHO limit you're at, with most sodium coming from processed and restaurant foods rather than the salt you add yourself.
Sodium and salt are not the same: salt (g) = sodium (mg) × 2.5 ÷ 1000. Most dietary sodium comes from processed and restaurant food, not the salt shaker.
How to use this sodium calculator
Add up the sodium listed on the nutrition labels of what you eat in a day, type that total in milligrams into the single field, and press calculate. There is nothing to sign up for and no age or weight to enter. Your result appears instantly: the salt equivalent in grams, the sodium back in mg, and what percentage of the WHO daily limit that represents, with a simple under, near or over marker.
How to read your result
Sodium and salt are not the same thing. One gram of table salt holds about 400 mg of sodium, so the tool multiplies sodium by 2.5 to give the salt figure in grams. Most adults should stay under roughly 2,000 mg of sodium, which is close to 5 g of salt, in a whole day. Compare that ceiling with the numbers printed on packaged foods, because a single ready meal can quietly use up half of it.
The science behind the limit
The World Health Organization advises adults to keep sodium below 2,000 mg a day, and the American Heart Association sets an ideal target near 1,500 mg. The reason is blood pressure: a high sodium intake pulls water into the bloodstream and raises pressure, which over years increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Crucially, most of the sodium people eat is already hidden in processed and restaurant food, not sprinkled from the salt shaker at the table.
Limits and practical tips
The 2,000 mg figure suits most adults, but needs rise when you sweat heavily through endurance exercise or work in the heat, since sodium leaves the body in sweat. Some kidney, heart or blood-pressure conditions require a stricter limit set by a doctor, so follow medical advice over any calculator. The most effective habits are reading nutrition labels and cooking at home, which strips out hidden sodium. To round out the picture, try CaloNote's Water, Sugar Intake and Fiber Intake calculators, and log it all in the CaloNote app.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the sodium intake calculator do?
- It converts daily sodium in milligrams into table salt in grams and compares your intake with health guidelines. Because salt is only about 40% sodium, the tool helps you translate label figures into the salt amount you actually consume.
- How do I convert sodium to salt?
- Multiply sodium in grams by about 2.5 to get salt, since salt is roughly 40% sodium. The calculator does this for you, so entering your daily sodium in mg returns the equivalent salt in grams alongside the recommended limit.
- What is the recommended daily sodium limit?
- The World Health Organization recommends adults consume less than 2,000 mg of sodium per day, equal to about 5 grams of salt. The calculator flags how your intake compares, helping you see whether you are within that guideline.