My palate is used to around just shy of a gram of salt per 100g of food (around 300mg sodium)… (yes, I made some experiments and weighted salt and food… tasted it), restaurant food (fine dining, not fast food, in fast food sky is the limit) is usually 50% more, 1.5g of salt per 100g (around 500mg sodium), unsalted food has around 40mg of sodium, 10x less.
I am trying to decrease sodium once again to maybe 50-60%… we will se how it goes.
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I think around 1% salt is standard, some time ago I looked at processed food product labels like bread, etc, and that pattern was everywhere. It optimizes taste, salt/sodium also lifts up other flavors, reducing bitter flavors, etc, and so on iirc.
It is probably no accident that our blood contains 0.9% of salt 
Well we don’t drink blood. Unless you’re Vampire Lord Zero.
If we compare the sugar content of breast milk (7%), which is close to what’s used with sodas (around 10%), there is nearly zero sodium in it.
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Another day, another time testing a no added sodium + adequate hydration protocol. I feel about 15-20% stronger, smarter, faster. I must resist the McDonald’s food! I don’t understand what the mechanism is nor what it is.
It’s such a small, subtle, but noticeable benefit. But it will probably compound why I think it will be worth it to me. I am worried it is because of caloric restriction increasing catecholamines or something, which isn’t sustainable. At the same time I can eat “healthy” and have those added benefits compound as well. 
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That is always a good idea.
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I was searching for studies of a no added sodium diet and this is the first one that came up published in The Lancet in 1982:
There was no increase in overall frequency of muscle cramp, and the diet group reported feeling happier, less depressed, and less dependent on analgesics.
This is exactly what I’ve felt and it’s a near instant effect (1-2 days), and it’s just absurd. I don’t understand it. It must be no added sodium to work for me, not 2 or 3 g sodium or whatever. I don’t know if it’s hydration that is mediating this possible effect or if it’s the sodium somehow.
beard1982.pdf (524.7 KB)
I woke up after a night of sleep and it was so good, I felt 20 years younger based on a memory I had of great sleep. My Oura sleep scores didn’t change though as far as I can tell.
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Causal relationship between dietary salt intake and dementia risk: Mendelian randomization study, 2024
A suggestive association was observed for genetically predicted higher dietary salt intake and increased risk of overall dementia in the European ancestry [odds ratio (OR): 1.542; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.095–2.169; P = 0.013].
I eat NO added sodium right now and it might’ve been the most powerful subjective intervention I’ve done so far. I don’t know much about it though.
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Wonder how much S(odium)GLT2i benefits/recapitulate the different effects you just listed above?
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I’ve been back on the no added sodium train again for about 4-5 months since around the time this thread was started by @AnUser. I had done it before in mid 2022-2023 with good results and just gradually gotten away from it due to life getting busy and not paying attention. I must say my experience both times has been very positive with regards to less perceived inflammation, improved blood pressure (I tend to run low) and fluid balance. I’ll admit to not understanding any of this and just doing what works for me. I’m continuing to follow this thread with interest because it seems so counterintuitive yet it works.
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Salt Is Hiding Everywhere. Can You Spot It?
Did you know that a tablespoon of ketchup has more sodium than 20 Cheez-Its? Or that two slices of Gouda can have more sodium than 55 Goldfish?
Most people in the United States consume far more sodium than federal health officials recommend, which is no more than 2,300 milligrams per day. Exceeding that, they say, can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
But cutting back can be challenging, since most of the sodium we consume comes from packaged and prepared foods. Think you can spot the biggest salt bombs? Take our quiz to find out.
Full article: Salt Is Hiding Everywhere. Can You Spot It? (NY Times)
Table salt: 590 milligrams(25 percent of the daily limit)
Kosher salt: 280 milligrams(12 percent of the daily limit)
Not all salts are equally salty. Kosher salt, with its coarse, flaky crystals, contains less sodium than an equal measure of table salt, which has smaller, denser crystals. If you cook a lot, you may notice that the recipes that call for kosher salt often require far more of it than those that call for table salt.
Bread: 230 milligrams (10 percent of the daily limit)
Chips: 210 milligrams(9 percent of the daily limit)
Chips are obviously a salty snack. But bread also depends on salt for taste, texture and shelf life. Check out the nutrition facts when you buy your next loaf — you may be surprised by how much sodium you find.
Orange soda: 45 milligrams (2 percent of the daily limit)
Club soda: 95 milligrams (4 percent of the daily limit)
Most of the sodium we consume comes from sodium chloride, or regular salt. But the sodium bicarbonate found in club soda (which mimics the flavor of natural mineral water) and the sodium benzoate found in some soft drinks (added as a preservative) can also contribute.
Fries: 260 milligrams(11 percent of the daily limit)
Salad dressing: 360 milligrams (16 percent of the daily limit)
Condiments like salad dressing, ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce are often unassuming sources of sodium. Their job, after all, is to add a lot of flavor.
Bacon: 350 milligrams(15 percent of the daily limit)
Ham: 580 milligrams(24 percent of the daily limit)
Cold cuts and cured meats contain a lot of salt — added for its preservative and flavor-enhancing qualities — and are a top source of sodium in the American diet. Between the bread, lunch meat and any toppings or condiments added, sandwiches tend to be a major source of sodium as well.
Beef frank: 480 milligrams(21 percent of the daily limit)
Vegetable juice: 920 milligrams(40 percent of the daily limit)
Regular: 140 milligrams (6 percent of the daily limit)
Reduced fat: 190 milligrams (8 percent of the daily limit)
Salad: 1,070 milligrams(47 percent of the daily limit)
Pizza: 830 milligrams (36 percent of the daily limit)
Restaurant meals can be loaded with salt, and salads are no exception.
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It looks like my current sodium:potassium ratio is 0.35 for the week and 0.17 today. The highest sources for the week were shrimp (which really bumped it up) and pea protein powder. I definitely feel better keeping sodium on the lower end but some of it might also be from eating predominantly unprocessed foods. Apparently there was a doctor back in the day that advocated what he called the rice diet (basically rice and fruit) which was very low in sodium to cure what was considered malignant hypertension back then (prior to meds) and some other things. I just learned about him today.
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For 5 million years, according to MacGregor and de Wardener, our ancestors added no salt to their diet. Nowadays, such a diet would be considered very low in salt. This was the diet of all mammals during evolution, and they were fairly adapted to it. Humans, like other mammals, relied on the small amounts of salt naturally present in food to regulate the amount of fluid in the body. Very powerful mechanisms for conserving salt within the body were developed.
The addition of salt to food began relatively recently, about 5000 years ago. As people became increasingly addicted to it, salt became the most important object of trade and the economic foundation of several empires.
Our consumption of salt today is 10 to 20 times greater than it was 5000 years ago. Because the human body had become geared to conserve salt, it found it difficult to dispose of this relatively sudden, in evolutionary terms, increase in salt intake. The result was a general rise in blood pressure. Those who had the greatest difficulty getting rid of the excess salt had the greatest rise. A rise in blood pressure, of course, damages the arteries, and hypertension is the major cause of stroke and a major contributor to heart disease.
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I don’t think most have a problem in disposing the sodium, its just that the sudden increase in sodium, which could happen three times a day, can be a shock to the system especially in cases of suboptimal hydration. If someone doesn’t hydrate at all, well then it’s perma shock mode, maybe. I mean the moment of eating a meal with added sodium, and the hours afterwards until the kidney can process it.
For eating out it seems fruit, and vegetables with lemon for flavor is a good idea, with whatever else or nothing else someone eat at that time:
Round out your meal with simply prepared fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in sodium. Ask for steamed vegetables with no sauce, and use a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavor.
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I’m getting pretty good at this and feeling good too. My bp is always in the 90/60 range like the Yanomami. I have a history of it going low at times a couple years ago but it definitely fluctuated a lot more before I really started being mindful about it again at the end of December.
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Here’s another good one. Proposed Nomenclature for Salt Intake and for Reductions in Dietary Salt - PMC
Analysis of the composition of the Paleolithic diet estimates that intakes of dietary salt were approximately 1.7 g (sodium 690 mg) per day.32 Careful metabolic studies have shown that sodium balance can be maintained with long‐term salt intakes of 0.25 g to 0.9 g (sodium 100–375 mg) per day.31 Several studies have estimated salt intake in hunter‐gatherer societies with a range of results (Table 1), with nearly all population mean levels less than 2.5 g of salt (sodium 1000 mg) per day. Some of the higher levels of salt intake that have been reported in hunter‐gatherer societies may reflect a nutritional transition within these societies and the addition of salt to foods or higher natural sources of salt (eg, marine sources).33, 34 For example, we have not included intakes from coastal dwellers in New Guinea, Quash’Qai tribes people, and similar peoples in Northern Kashmir with high dietary salt from natural sources. Hypertension is prevalent in those areas and hence salt intakes may represent pathophysiological rather than physiological levels.33, 35, 36, 37 A mean urinary 24‐hour sodium excretion of less than 1000 mg (equivalent to 2.5 g salt in the diet) per day in specific human groups is associated with low rates of hypertension (<5%) and little to no increase in blood pressure with age (the main adverse health effect of higher levels of dietary salt).33, 36, 38, 39 Hence, in part for ease of classification, we recommend defining normal (physiological) ranges of salt intake as <2.5 g salt (sodium <1000 mg) per day even though the true requirement range for salt remains unclear (Table 2). The upper limit of our definition may be higher than minimal physiological requirements but less than some hunter‐gatherer societies consumed.28
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