How Much Salt Is Too Much Salt When It Comes To Your Health?

Low-sodium soy sauce, soup and snacks dominate supermarket shelves, so it seems pretty obvious that a lot of Americans are aware that they need to lower their sodium intake. But to what extent is it really a problem?

Most people have no idea how much salt they’re eating every day, or how much is recommended (particularly for those with certain health conditions). And did you know that some people are actually encouraged to eatmore salt?

We spoke with doctors to answer all of our saltiest questions.

First of all, we do need to eat a certain amount of sodium.

According to Dr. Columbus Batiste, the regional chief of cardiology with Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, “We need the right amount of salt to provide our bodies with important electrolytes that can regulate things like muscle contractions, fluid balance and nerve transmission.”

Dr. Rohan Khera, an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, told HuffPost that salt is “needed for every single body cell, especially the more active heart and muscle tissues.”

Moreover, salt plays a role in ”sweating, normal cell function, metabolism, maintenance of body fluids, and keeping muscles and nerves working properly,” said Dr. John Higgins, a cardiologist with UTHealth Houston.

How much salt do healthy adults need?

Healthy adults only need 500 milligrams of salt per day (about a quarter-teaspoon of salt) to maintain healthy body function, according to cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg, the medical director of Atria New York and a clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Limiting salt intake to such a paltry amount isn’t realistic for many people, and that’s OK for most healthy adults, as long as