Sodium vs salt: how to convert label values and daily limits
Salt is about 40 percent sodium by weight, so to convert sodium to salt you multiply by 2.5. One gram of sodium equals roughly 2.5 grams of salt. The two words are not interchangeable, and mixing them up is the single most common label error. The World Health Organization recommends staying under 5 grams of salt, which is about 2 grams of sodium, per day. Most people eat far more, and the surprise is that the bulk of it comes from processed foods like bread, not the salt shaker.
Sodium multiply 2.5 equals salt.
Under 5 g salt (2 g sodium) a day.
Processed food, not the shaker.
The conversion, both directions
Table salt is sodium chloride. By weight it is about 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride, which gives the fixed conversion factor of 2.5. To turn a sodium figure into salt, multiply by 2.5. To turn a salt figure into sodium, divide by 2.5. So a food listing 0.8 grams of sodium contains about 2 grams of salt, and a food listing 1 gram of salt contains about 0.4 grams of sodium. Keep the direction straight and the label stops being confusing.
| If the label says | Then |
|---|---|
| 1 g sodium | = 2.5 g salt |
| 1 g salt | = 0.4 g sodium |
| 2 g sodium (daily WHO limit) | = 5 g salt |
Why labels differ by country
EU labels list "salt", while US labels list "sodium", so a product that looks alarming in one system can look mild in the other purely because of which figure is printed. This trips up shoppers comparing imported goods and developers mapping nutrition data across regions. When comparing two products, convert both to the same unit first, then judge. Reading per 100 grams rather than per serving matters here too, because a small stated serving can hide a high sodium density.
Where the sodium actually hides
Only a minority of most people's sodium comes from salt added while cooking or at the table. The majority is already in packaged and processed food, and often in places that do not taste salty at all. Bread is a classic example: no single slice tastes salty, but bread is eaten in such quantity that it is a leading sodium source in many diets. Cheese, sauces, cured and processed meats, and ready meals do the rest.
| Surprising or expected source | Why it adds up |
|---|---|
| Bread | Modest per slice, but eaten in volume |
| Canned sardines | Brine and sauces carry added salt |
| Jarred pasta sauce | Sodium used for flavour and preservation |
| Cottage cheese | Cheeses are salted during production |
How to actually cut sodium
Because the salt shaker is not the main culprit, cutting sodium is mostly about swapping processed staples for less-processed versions and reading labels on the foods you buy most. Cook more from scratch, rinse canned beans and vegetables, and use acid, herbs and spices to replace some salt for flavour. Taste adapts within a couple of weeks, so early blandness is temporary. To find the lower-sodium option between two similar products, put them side by side with the comparison tool and compare the sodium per 100 grams.
Bottom line
Sodium and salt are related but not equal: multiply sodium by 2.5 to get salt. Aim for under 5 grams of salt a day, know that most of it arrives hidden in processed foods rather than from your own shaker, and target the packaged staples you eat in quantity if you want to bring the number down.
Sources
Common questions
How do I convert sodium to salt?
Multiply sodium by 2.5 to get salt, because salt is about 40 percent sodium by weight. To go the other way, divide salt by 2.5. So 1 gram of sodium equals about 2.5 grams of salt.
How much salt per day is too much?
The World Health Organization recommends under 5 grams of salt a day, which is about 2 grams of sodium. Most people eat well above this, largely from processed foods.
Where does most dietary sodium come from?
Mostly from processed and packaged foods rather than the salt shaker. Bread, cheese, sauces, processed meat and ready meals are the biggest contributors for most people.