kehorner

Sodium is an element, like calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, or magnesium. So there's no "good" or "bad" sodium. There's only one element sodium. It can combine with other elements to make molecules. The chemical name for salt is sodium chloride, which means that salt is a molecule made up of one atom of sodium and one atom of chlorine. Another molecule that contains sodium is baking soda; sodium bicarbonate is one sodium atom and two carbon atoms. Your body does need sodium, but too much can raise your blood pressure.

The RDA is less than 2400 mg per day (which is about a teaspoon). This includes sodium found in prepared foods, sodium used in cooking, and salt you put on your food. If you have high blood pressure, it is recommended that you consume less than 1500 mg per day. Note that both of these recommendations say "less than," meaning that you mostly are worried about going over that number, but going well under that number is fine. Becoming deficient in sodium is generally only a risk for people sweating a lot in hot weather and drinking only water (but no sports drink to replace the lost sodium from sweat).

If you are looking to reduce your sodium intake, the best place to start may be to remove the salt shaker from the table. If you need some seasoning on your food, you can buy sodium-free seasoning mixes (Mrs. Dash, for example) to sprinkle on instead. Another big source of sodium is prepared foods, especially canned soups, frozen dinners, etc.