--- title: Older Adults May Be OK to Eat More Salt Than Previously Thought description: New study takes a look at sodium recommendations canonical: https://time.com/3673567/sodium-older-adults/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-19T15:48:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:41:17.162Z article:section: Health og:title: Older Adults May Be OK to Eat More Salt Than Previously Thought og:description: New study takes a look at sodium recommendations og:url: https://time.com/3673567/sodium-older-adults/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Older Adults May Be OK to Eat More Salt Than Previously Thought twitter:description: New study takes a look at sodium recommendations twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Older Adults May Be OK to Eat More Salt Than Previously Thought > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=12f81e21-38c1-44f6-b367-d444afd6357b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 19, 2015 3:48 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 19, 2015 3:48 PM UTC It’s currently recommended that adults aged 51 and older consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day for better heart health. Since that’s less than one teaspoon of salt, it can be hard to achieve if fast or processed food is part of their diets. But now a [ new study](http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6278) shows that consuming up to 2,300 mg of salt isn’t associated with greater mortality, cardiovascular disease, or heart failure in older adults. The study, published in the journal _JAMA Internal Medicine_, doesn’t refute Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations that older people should consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, but it shows there also isn’t harm if people consume up to 2,300 mg (which is the CDC’s recommendation for the general population). The authors note that a limitation of the study is that the amount of sodium consumed was self-reported, and people generally tend to underestimate their sodium consumption. There did seem to be a greater risk for heart-related health problems among people who consumed more than 2,300 mg, but the numbers were not statistically significant. To reach these findings, the researchers looked at the self-reported diets of 2,642 adults between ages 71 to 80, and followed-up 10 years later. The researchers found that 10-year mortality rates were 33.8% among people consuming less than 1,500 mg a day, 30.7% among people consuming 1,500 to 2,300 mg, and 35.2% among people consuming more than 2,300. The CDC recommendations offer a bit more leeway for people two and older who are supposed to consume 2,300 mg of sodium or less. But the American Heart Association has a 1,500 mg a day [recommendation](http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/About-Sodium-Salt%5FUCM%5F463416%5FArticle.jsp) for all ages. Both recommendations have been disputed, with some experts [arguing](http://consumer.healthday.com/cardiovascular-health-information-20/dieting-to-control-salt-health-news-191/are-we-overdoing-salt-restrictions-690748.html) there’s a lack of evidence that people really need to be aiming for that little sodium, and that it’s a goal that most people cannot realistically meet. “In older adults it’s probably ok if you stick with the general recommendations of one teaspoon (2,300 mg),” said study author Dr. Andreas P. Kalogeropoulos of Emory University. “If you reach 70 and are free of cardiovascular disease or heart failure, these people are probably going to do ok with the standard recommendations. 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