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Why no added salt?

The answer is that whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, pulses, whole grains, nuts and seeds already contain sodium. Our bodies evolved to be salt conserving machines. Consider the following:

There is no RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) set for sodium because there is inadequate evidence to support a recommendation.  Likewise, there is no Estimated Average Requirement (EAR). There is only an AI (Adequate Intake) and a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) (was UL now it is CDRR (Chronic Disease Risk Reduction)) set for sodium.  Lots of people confuse AI and RDA when it comes to sodium.

Researchers Paul Elliott and Ian Brown (Brown et al.) determined that the physiological need is 230 to 460 mg of sodium per day. They also noted in their published paper that the 1500 mg/d AI (Adequate Intake) was set to "ensure that the diet provides adequate intakes of other nutrients, and to cover sodium sweat losses in unacclimatized individuals who are exposed to high temperatures, or who are physically active".  Microsoft Word - Elliot-brown-2007.doc (who.int)

The Yanomami indigenous people from South America don't consume added salt in their traditional diet and their blood pressure levels do not get higher as they age. Wow! They have mean BP levels of 95/61. For them, blood pressure remains almost the same from birth to death! They were part of the INTERSALT study. https://www.scielo.br/j/abc/a/8yHr8tMsx5hB6s3sbQZRzKC/?format=pdf&lang=en

The Mars 500 project findings were fascinating.  Researchers controlled sodium intakes and measured sodium excretion over a long period of time.  It led to surprising discoveries about sodium intake, excretion and storage throughout the body. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919532/ 

See Dr. Jens Titze's summary TEDx Talk about the the Mars 500 project findings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQPBmnIuCY

If Dr. Titze's research findings are correct then the 24-hour urine excretion is not an accurate method to estimate sodium intake. Studies that pre-date this new research would not be current.  That excess sodium intake gets stored throughout your body was big news! 

Additional info such as high levels of salt being linked to autoimmune disorders just further reinforce the idea that added salt is likely more harmful than previously thought.  https://medicine.yale.edu/news/medicineatyale/salt-is-new-culprit-in-autoimmunity/ 

Dr. Joel Fuhrman's analogy of salt consumption years and smoking years is useful. More smoking years leads to worse health outcomes and he indicates that more added salt consumption years also leads to worse health outcomes.

The lowest amount of sodium required daily by our bodies that I've seen in published material is 50mg. 50 milligrams! That amount is noted in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Sodium  https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-sodium.html 

Sodium is the most abundant cation in the extracellular fluid. It is largely associated with chloride and bicarbonate in regulation of acid-base equilibrium. Maintenance of the osmotic pressure of body fluid, and thus prevention of excess fluid loss, is another important function of sodium. Sodium also acts in preserving the normal irritability of muscle and permeability of cells. The minimum sodium chloride requirement is about 120 mg/day (approximately 50 mg of sodium in this form).

Excess levels of sodium/salt may put you at risk for:

Increased blood pressure
Increased risk of heart disease
Increased risk of stroke
Increased risk of kidney disease
Increased risk of osteoporosis
Increased risk of insulin resistance
Increased risk of death from heart failure
Increased risk of enlarged heart muscle
Increased risk of headaches
Increased risk of kidney stones
Increased risk of stomach cancer
Increased water retention that leads to puffiness, bloating and weight gain

Read the labels on food. These items in processed food have sodium:

monosodium glutamate (MSG)
baking soda
sodium bicarbonate
baking powder
disodium phosphate
sodium alginate
sodium citrate
sodium nitrite


Sodium dietary reference values from other countries:
Japan adults: 600 mg EAR (Estimated Average Requirement)
Australia adults: 460 - 920 mg AI (Adequate Intake)

Personal note: I'm doing great with no added salt in my diet. I probably get around 350 to 500mg of sodium on average from vegetables, fruits, legumes & whole grains etc. No problems that I'm aware of and I'm a runner who works up a sweat many times per week. 

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