06/19/2026
Have you ever thought "My blood sodium is normal. Great! I must not be eating too much salt!".
Unfortunately, this is NOT the case.
Although it is great that your blood sodium is in the normal range, the amount of sodium in your blood doesn't tell you much about how much sodium you are eating.
Your body TIGHTLY regulates how much sodium is in your blood, regardless of how much salt you eat. In EXTREME situations, your blood sodium might be high or low based on dietary sodium, but for the vast majority of people, this isn't the case.
Blood sodium actually tells us more about how much water is on your body. Low blood sodium indicates your body is holding on to too much water. High blood sodium may mean your body is dangerously dehydrated.
What does this mean? Basically, if your blood sodium is normal, you may still be eating way too much salt. Keep track of how much sodium you are eating by looking at those food labels.
NOTE: A 24-hour urine sodium DOES tell you how much salt you are eating. Usually 24-hour urine sodium is given in milliequivalents (mEq) per day. Multiple mEq by 23 to see how many milligrams of sodium you ate the day you did your urine collection!
Learn more about how too much salt can cause kidney stones at the blog: https://www.thekidneydietitian.org/does-salt-cause-kidney-stones/
