After years of hearing that we need to lower our sodium intake and eat less salt, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has reported findings that suggest there is no benefit to reducing intake to the very low levels currently recommended in national dietary guidelines. The current guidelines recommend people in high-risk groups limit sodium intake to 1500 milligrams a day. The IOM's findings, released today in the report Sodium Intake in Populations: Assessment of Evidence, suggest no benefit for anyone to aim for sodium levels less than 2300 milligrams a day.
Robert P. Heaney, M.D., a clinical endocrinologist who specializes in nutrition and the John A. Creighton University Professor at Creighton University, has served on a previous IOM panel, which examined calcium and related nutrients. He did not contribute to this report, but has reviewed many of the studies used by the IOM to make its determination and believes the institute is moving in the right direction.