Sodium Intake Recommendations for Diabetes Patients

Evidence-Based Recommendations

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes limit sodium consumption to less than 2,300 mg/day (approximately 5 g of salt), which aligns with recommendations for the general population 1, 2, 3, 4
This recommendation has remained consistent across multiple updates of the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (2018-2021) 1, 2, 3, 6
The evidence rating for this recommendation is "B" in all guidelines, indicating moderate-quality evidence 2, 3

For individuals with both diabetes and hypertension, further sodium restriction may be indicated, but guidelines generally do not recommend going below 1,500 mg/day 5
Meta-analyses have shown that achieving lower blood pressure through salt restriction reduces the risk of stroke without increasing myocardial infarction risk 7

Sodium intake recommendations should take into account palatability of food, availability and affordability of low-sodium options, and the difficulty of achieving low-sodium recommendations in a nutritionally adequate diet 4, 5