The dietary guideline for sodium: Should we shake it up? No

The current US dietary guideline for sodium is a limit of 2.4 g/d or 6 g NaCl/d. This amount of sodium is far in excess of any physiologic need and is likely an essential though not by itself sufficient primary cause of hypertension as well as a contributor to many other cardiovascular and renal abnormalities. The evidence incriminating the current excessive consumption of sodium derives from epidemiologic, experimental, and interventional data, most of which support a threshold of ≃100 mmol/d for the harmful effects of sodium to be expressed. Although the current recommendation may not be low enough to go below that threshold, it is an appropriate and attainable goal for now.