Research

Hormonal

Estimated sodium excretion between 3.00 and 6.00 g per day is associated with the lowest risk of death and major cardiovascular events, whereas both higher (≥7.00 g/day) and lower (<3.00 g/day) intakes are associated with increased risk.

For cardiovascular health, aim for a moderate sodium intake (estimated 3-6 g/day) rather than extreme restriction or excess. Both very low and very high sodium levels are linked to higher risks of death and heart events. If you have hypertension, be particularly mindful not to exceed 6 g/day.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
In this study in which sodium intake was estimated on the basis of measured urinary excretion, an estimated sodium intake between 3 g per day and 6 g per day was associated with a lower risk of death and cardiovascular events than was either a higher or lower estimated level of intake.
Martin O’Donnell et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2014

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort study (n=101,945) across 17 countries with objective urinary biomarkers, though observational design limits causal inference compared to RCTs.

Source

Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events

Martin O’Donnell et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2014

DOI 10.1056/nejmoa1311889

cohort · n=101945Cited 893×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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