Salt (sodium) per day: the benchmark to know

🥗 Radish · 6 min

The salt shaker on the table isn't the real problem. Most of the salt you eat is already in the food before you touch it. Here's the WHO benchmark for salt and sodium, why most of it comes from sources you'd never salt yourself, and how Radish helps you spot it.

The benchmark: under 5 g of salt, under 2 g of sodium a day

For an adult, the WHO recommends consuming less than 2 g of sodium per day, roughly 5 g of salt (just under a level teaspoon). Salt and sodium aren't the same thing: table salt (sodium chloride) is only about 40% sodium by weight, which explains the roughly 2.5x gap between the two numbers. Labels sometimes list salt, sometimes sodium alone — easy to mix up if you don't know the conversion.

In practice, average intake blows past this benchmark in most countries, including France, where the Esteban study (2014-2016) from Santé publique France put average adult intake at 8.1 g of salt per day, with a clear gap between sexes: about 9.2 g/day for men versus 7.1 g/day for women — nearly double the WHO benchmark for men.

Why the salt shaker isn't the real issue

According to the WHO Regional Office for Europe, up to 75-80% of daily salt intake comes from processed foods, not salt added at the table or during home cooking. In other words: you can blow past the benchmark without ever touching a salt shaker, just by eating store-bought products.

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Where salt actually hides

Salt shows up in foods that don't necessarily taste salty, which makes the benchmark hard to hit without paying attention:

Cured meats and deli meats: ham, sausage, bacon — among the most concentrated sources.
Bread and pastries: everyday bread carries a meaningful amount of salt, and it's often eaten several times a day.
Ready meals and canned foods: soups, prepared dishes, canned vegetables — salt also acts as a preservative here.
Cheese: some aged cheeses are particularly high in salt.
Industrial sauces and savory snacks: soy sauce, condiments, chips, savory crackers.

By contrast, a home-cooked meal made from raw ingredients, even seasoned "to taste," usually contains far less sodium than a comparable packaged product.

Why your calorie app doesn't always show it

Many counters focus on calories and the three macros, leaving sodium out or burying it in a hard-to-read spot. Yet it's one of the four factors that weigh most heavily against a product in the Nutri-Score calculation, alongside energy, sugar and saturated fat — a very salty product will struggle to score well even if it looks "light" otherwise. Radish shows sodium from official CIQUAL tables, next to each product's Nutri-Score, so you can spot sources you wouldn't expect.

How to cut back without losing flavor

Cutting sodium doesn't mean eating bland food — a few habits make a real difference.

Favor whole, unprocessed foods over ready meals whenever you can.
Compare labels between similar products (two breads, two ready meals): sodium gaps are often large for a similar taste.
Rinse canned foods (legumes, canned vegetables) to wash off some of the brine's salt.
Swap salt for herbs and spices to season a home-cooked dish without extra sodium.

FAQ

How much salt per day is the maximum?

The WHO recommends staying under 5 g of salt per day, equivalent to less than 2 g of sodium. It's a ceiling, not a target to reach.

What's the difference between salt and sodium?

Table salt is a compound (sodium chloride) that's roughly 40% sodium by weight. So 5 g of salt equals about 2 g of sodium — labels sometimes use one, sometimes the other.

Where does most of the salt we eat come from?

Per the WHO Regional Office for Europe, 75-80% comes from processed foods (cured meats, bread, ready meals, cheese, sauces), not salt added at the table or during home cooking.

How do I track my sodium easily?

Radish shows sodium next to each product's Nutri-Score, based on official CIQUAL tables — free and offline.

Remember: under 5 g of salt (2 g of sodium) per day, and 75-80% of that comes from processed foods, not the salt shaker. To keep it in view, Radish shows sodium next to your calories. nutri-track.fr

General information, not medical advice.

🔎 Methodology & sources. Every nutrition figure in this article is cross-checked against official sources (ANSES, EFSA, WHO, CIQUAL/USDA, French Public Health agency), and health topics are reviewed before publication against our internal reference framework. See our full methodology →