Sodium chloride, also known as salt, is found naturally in food and is often added to improve taste, but too much can be harmful to the body. The body needs sodium in small amounts to conduct nerve impulses, maintain proper mineral and water balance, and contract and relax muscles. The recommended average daily nutrient intake level for sodium is 1,500 mg/day, although most Canadians eat much more than that!
Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure which contributes to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. Therefore, it is important to limit your salt intake.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 2000 mg/day, to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and related cardiovascular diseases. That’s the equivalent of less than a teaspoon!
Where Canadians consume most of their sodium each day
The World Health Organization recently stated that Canadians consume almost twice the recommended amount of sodium on average. But where does everyone get that high salt intake?
Restaurant meals and processed foods (75%)
Added salt (13%)
Naturally occurring (12%)
As you can see, rRestaurant meals and processed foods contribute a high percentage of Canadians’ daily salt intake. Canadians also consume high amounts of sodium from foods such as baked goods, processed meats, dishes such as pizza, lasagna, frozen dinners, canned soups and cheeses.
Risks associated with high blood pressure
Understanding the importance of maintaining a healthy blood pressure can help you limit your salt intake, so let’s take a closer look at the risks associated with high blood pressure.
Sodium is essential for mineral and water balance in our bodies, but too much can be harmful. Sodium in our body helps draw water into our bloodstream, however high amounts of sodium will draw too much water into the bloodstream increasing blood volume leading to higher blood pressure.
High blood pressure can increase your risk for:
Strokes: A stroke is when something blocks the blood supply to part of the brain or a blood vessel in the brain bursts. Sustained high blood pressure can damage your blood vessels leading to clots that can cause a stroke.
Heart disease: High blood pressure can damage your arteries (blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood throughout the body). Damage to the arteries can reduce the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart, increasing the risk of heart disease.
Kidney Disease: Over time, high blood pressure can cause the arteries around the kidney to weaken, meaning a decrease in blood flow to the kidneys. If the kidneys do not receive enough blood, their functions (regulating fluids, hormones and salts in the body) will be compromised. The kidneys also help regulate blood pressure, so if they aren’t working properly due to high blood pressure, this can create a negative feedback loop.
If you have high blood pressure, a personal or family history of heart or kidney disease diseaseor would you like to know more about reducing salt in your diet – close a session with one of our dietitians today!
Ways to reduce your salt intake
1. Eating at home
Try it to limit how often you eat out, such as restaurant meals often high sodium content
Focus on eating home-cooked meals with mostly fresh ingredients, instead of packaged foods
2. Limit your intake:
Processed cured meats
Canned soups
Salty snacks (eg chips, pretzels, popcorn)
High-sodium sauces (eg, soy sauce, ketchup, teriyaki sauce, canned pasta sauces)
3. Reducing added salt
Season your foods with herbs, spices, garlic and citric juices instead of salt. Click here for a salmon recipe that uses cilantro, lime, garlic and paprika to season with a little salt!
Choose to either salt your food while cooking or at the table, not both. Always taste your food before adding salt – you may find you need less than you think!
When eating out, try to choose options with lower sodium content (see The list of high in sodium food at #2!)
4. Choose “Low Sodium” Ingredients.
When shopping for low-sodium options, many canned and packaged foods have these available, including: salt-free broth, reduced-salt soy sauce, etc.
Be careful when choosing low-sodium options, as they can still be high in sodium per serving.
Reading Nutrition Labels
When you’re grocery shopping, reading it Nutrition facts table is vital to buy healthy options. Sodium content will be listed in both milligrams (mg) and percent daily value (%). When comparing foods, first keep in mind the serving size listed at the top, as the sodium content is listed as “per serving” (not the whole package!) and products may list a different serving size on their labels.
If a product contains 5% or less of the Daily Value of sodium per serving, it is considered low sodium, 15% and higher of the Daily Value is considered high. Next time you’re at the grocery store, try comparing nutrition labels on similar products to see if there’s a low-sodium option!
Sodium can be hard to cut because it’s so abundant in packaged foods and restaurant meals, and it helps make food taste good. However, you cook most of your food at home and use other ingredients such as fresh herbs, spices, garlic, ginger and citrus juices to add plenty of taste in your food can help you significantly reduce your sodium intake. Research has also found that if you gradually reduce your sodium intake, over time your taste buds can begin to adapt and become more sensitive to the taste of salt, so you find that you don’t need as much to enjoy your meal. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, gradually reducing your salt intake over time can be effective and help reduce your risk of heart disease.
The tasks listed:
Chung, ML, TA Lennie, and DK Moser. “A stepwise taste adjustment intervention reduced dietary sodium intake in adults with hypertension”. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing 21.Supplement_1 (2022): zvac060-077. Available from:
Fraser Health. Limiting sodium (salt). (November 2021). Available from:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke Prevention. (May 13, 2021). Available from:
The World Health Organization. Salt reduction. (2023 September 14). Available from:
