Sodium is one of the three nutrients the label groups under 'eat less of.' It's essential in small amounts — your body needs it for fluid balance and nerve function — but most people get far more than they need, which raises blood pressure and heart-disease risk.
The Daily Value
The Daily Value for sodium is 2,300 milligrams per day, roughly the amount in one teaspoon of table salt. The American Heart Association suggests an even lower ideal of 1,500 mg for most adults. Because it's a nutrient to limit, aim for a low %DV — 5% or less per serving is low, 20% or more is high.
Salt vs. sodium
Salt and sodium aren't the same thing. Table salt (sodium chloride) is about 40% sodium by weight, so one gram of salt contains about 400 mg of sodium. Labels list sodium, not salt, so the number already accounts for this.
Where sodium hides
Most dietary sodium — around 70% — doesn't come from the salt shaker. It's already in packaged and restaurant foods: breads, deli meats, soups, sauces, pizza, and snacks. Foods that don't even taste especially salty, like bread and breakfast cereal, can be major contributors because you eat a lot of them. Even some drinks — sports drinks, certain sodas, and vegetable juices — carry meaningful sodium.
Reading it on drinks
Beverages aren't the biggest sodium source, but energy drinks and some specialty coffee drinks contain more than you'd expect. When you build a label in the BevFacts app, the sodium line shows its %DV so you can see how a drink fits into the daily total.