Removing Salt

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, prepared jointly by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, recommends that adults under age fifty-one years of age consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day (the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt). Older adults, African Americans, and people with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease are advised to limit their intake to no more than 1,500 mg per day (the American Heart Association urged the committee to set a limit of 1,500 mg for all adults). Most Americans, however, get about 3,500 mg of sodium each day.