Lower-sodium everyday cooking: every claim and its source
This is the ledger the guides are written from. Each entry says what we claim, what that claim does not extend to, and which source it rests on. It is here so a statement can be checked one claim at a time rather than by reading an article and hoping.
Everyday cooking with less salt, built on the principles behind the WHO and DASH advice — including why their headline numbers differ. Your own sodium target and your treatment belong with your clinician, and a potassium-containing salt substitute is not right for everyone.
Statements this site makes, each with the source behind it.
WHO recommends that adults consume less than 2,000 mg sodium per day as a general-population recommendation.
How we use it: This is a population guideline, not an individualized treatment target. Clinical conditions, medications and professional advice can change a person’s appropriate target.
Cite this claim: https://cernere.xyz/conditions/lower-sodium-cooking/evidence/#ls-c02
The 2025 US high-blood-pressure guideline strongly recommends a heart-healthy eating pattern such as DASH and reducing sodium as lifestyle measures for adults.
How we use it: Lifestyle guidance complements, not replaces, diagnosis, medication or individualized cardiovascular care.
Cite this claim: https://cernere.xyz/conditions/lower-sodium-cooking/evidence/#ls-c03
On US Nutrition Facts labels the sodium Daily Value is 2,300 mg; 5% DV or less per serving is considered low and 20% DV or more high as a general label-reading guide.
How we use it: Percent Daily Value is a US labelling tool, not a globally portable medical target.
Cite this claim: https://cernere.xyz/conditions/lower-sodium-cooking/evidence/#ls-c04
Australian/New Zealand nutrition panels report sodium per serving and per 100 g (or 100 mL where applicable), and FSANZ defines a low-salt claim at no more than 120 mg sodium per 100 g.
How we use it: Label claims and panel formats are jurisdiction-specific. Readers should compare like products using the label system on the package they are buying.
Cite this claim: https://cernere.xyz/conditions/lower-sodium-cooking/evidence/#ls-c05
A large share of dietary sodium can come from processed foods, breads, processed meats, snacks and condiments rather than only salt added at the table.
How we use it: The important sources vary by culture and shopping pattern; a Guide should teach comparison rather than publish one globally fixed list of “bad” brands.
Cite this claim: https://cernere.xyz/conditions/lower-sodium-cooking/evidence/#ls-c08
What we say with conditions attached
Statements that hold only within stated limits. The limits are the point.
WHO conditionally suggests potassium-containing lower-sodium salt substitutes for adults in the general population when table salt is used.
How we use it: The recommendation excludes people with kidney impairment or other circumstances that compromise potassium excretion and does not apply to children or pregnant women. The cookbook must not use potassium salt substitutes as a universal default.
DASH is more than a sodium ceiling. The current NHLBI plan combines lower sodium with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, dairy and lean protein choices.
Lower-sodium cooking works better when flavour comes from acidity, aromatics, spices, herbs, browning and texture rather than simply deleting salt from ordinary recipes.
Australian/New Zealand and US food labels present sodium differently. This Guide shows how to compare products without treating one region’s label shorthand as a universal rule.
Much dietary sodium can come from processed staples and condiments rather than the salt shaker. Learn which product categories are worth comparing and why brands cannot be hard-coded globally.
WHO conditionally supports potassium-containing lower-sodium salt substitutes for many adults, but explicitly excludes people with impaired potassium excretion and some other groups.
Packaged foods and restaurant meals vary widely. A practical lower-sodium strategy compares similar products, notices concentrated sauces and keeps the overall pattern in view.
Sodium and salt are related but not interchangeable label terms. Learn how to read recipe and food-label numbers without confusing sodium milligrams with grams of salt.
WHO, DASH and blood-pressure guidance all support reducing sodium, but their headline numbers are not identical. This Guide explains the scopes instead of inventing one universal target.
