The advice for adults in the UK is to eat no more than 6g of salt a day, and most people are above that without ever reaching for the shaker. This article sets out the limits for every age, how to read the salt figures on a label, where the salt in a typical diet actually comes from and what the evidence says about cutting back.
What is the daily salt limit for adults and children?
According to the NHS, the recommended maximum depends on age. Adults and children aged 11 and over should have no more than 6g of salt a day, which the NHS describes as around one level teaspoon. The limit covers all the salt in a day, both what is already in food and what is added during or after cooking.
| Age | Maximum salt per day |
|---|---|
| 11 years and over | 6g |
| 7 to 10 years | 5g |
| 4 to 6 years | 3g |
| 1 to 3 years | 2g |
| Under 1 year | Less than 1g |
Babies need very little because their kidneys are not yet fully developed, so food for infants should not have salt added. These are upper limits, not targets: there is no benefit in aiming to reach them.
How much salt do people in England actually eat?
The best measure of salt intake is a 24-hour urine collection, because it captures salt from every source and does not rely on people remembering what they ate. Public Health England published results of this kind in March 2016, based on a random sample of 689 adults aged 19 to 64 in England, with samples collected between May and September 2014.
The average intake was 8.0g a day. Illustrative arithmetic: 8.0g minus the 6g maximum is 2g, and 2g is one third of 6g, so the average was about a third above the limit. That matches the description given by Public Health England’s Dr Alison Tedstone, who said people were eating “a third more than we should”.
The same release put earlier averages at 8.8g in 2005 to 2006 and 8.5g in 2011, an 11% fall from the first survey to 2014. Progress was real, though still short of the limit. A later round of the survey, covering nearly 600 adults in England in 2018 to 2019, was published on GOV.UK in March 2020, using the same 24-hour urine approach.
These surveys cover adults of working age in England, so they do not describe every group. They are best read as a broad picture of a population that, on average, sits above the guidance.
Why does salt matter for health?
The NHS states that too much salt can raise blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The size of the effect will differ from person to person.
It is worth being precise about what this means. Eating less salt is one part of reducing risk, alongside a healthy weight, regular activity and moderate alcohol intake. It does not cure or prevent high blood pressure on its own, and nobody should expect a single dietary change to transform a reading. Our guide to blood pressure numbers and what they mean explains how readings are interpreted and when treatment is considered.
Where does the salt in our food come from?
Most of it is not added at the table. The NHS says that around three quarters of the salt we eat comes from packaged and everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, meat products and ready meals. Takeaways, restaurant and café meals and fast food add to the total.
This is why people who never use a salt shaker can still exceed the limit. Foods that do not taste particularly salty, such as bread and breakfast cereal, can contribute a lot simply because they are eaten often and in large amounts.
Some foods are salty by nature or by tradition. The NHS lists cured meats, cheese, olives, pickles and fish in brine as items to eat less often or in small amounts. Sauces matter too: soy sauce, gravy granules, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and brown sauce are all on the NHS list to limit.
How do you read salt on a food label?
Per 100g is the fairest way to compare products, because portion sizes differ. The NHS gives these guides for salt:
| Per 100g | Salt | Sodium (shown in brackets on some labels) |
|---|---|---|
| High | More than 1.5g | More than 0.6g |
| Low | 0.3g or less | 0.1g or less |
Anything between the two is medium. On front-of-pack traffic-light labels, red means high, amber means medium and green means low. The NHS advises looking for green and amber labels and checking the salt figure on the back or side.
Be careful with sodium. Some labels list sodium instead of salt, and the numbers are not the same thing. Salt is the figure to compare against the 6g limit.
A worked example: one ready meal
Per 100g figures can understate a meal, because few people eat exactly 100g. Illustrative arithmetic for a made-up ready meal that contains 1.2g of salt per 100g and weighs 400g:
- 400g is four lots of 100g
- 4 × 1.2g = 4.8g of salt
- 4.8g is four fifths of the 6g adult maximum, in one meal
Per 100g, 1.2g would show as medium, not red, yet the whole pack uses most of the day’s allowance. Checking the per-portion figure, where the label gives one, and thinking about the size of the pack, shows what a product really adds.
Does cutting down mean food that tastes of nothing?
Not necessarily. The NHS suggests several ways to cut back without losing flavour:
- Season with herbs, spices, black pepper, garlic, chilli or lemon juice.
- Taste food before adding salt, and avoid keeping the salt on the table if you are cutting down.
- Choose lower-salt versions of stock cubes, soy sauce and other sauces.
- Buy tinned vegetables, pulses and fish in water rather than brine.
- Reach for plain rice cakes, fruit, vegetable sticks or unsalted nuts instead of salty snacks.
Taste preferences adjust over weeks, so food that seems bland at first often stops doing so. Making one change at a time is easier to sustain than overhauling every meal. Cooking from scratch more often also hands control back to you, though that has to be balanced against time and budget. Some very convenient foods are ultra-processed, a category we examine in our piece on what the evidence shows about ultra-processed foods, and salt is only one of several reasons people look at them closely.
Can medicines and supplements contain salt?
Yes. The NHS notes that some dissolvable tablets, including certain painkillers, vitamins and prescription medicines, can be high in salt. This matters most for people who take them regularly or who have been told to watch their blood pressure.
Do not stop or change any prescribed medicine on your own because of its salt content. Speak to your GP or pharmacist, who can advise whether an alternative form is suitable.
When should you speak to a GP or NHS 111?
Everyday salt intake is a matter of general habit, not an emergency. However, it is sensible to talk to a health professional if:
- you have been told your blood pressure is high, or you have a condition affecting the heart or kidneys, and you want advice specific to you
- you are unsure whether a medicine or supplement is high in salt
- you feel unwell with severe headache, chest pain, sudden weakness or confusion, which need urgent attention: call 999 for chest pain or signs of stroke, or NHS 111 if you are unsure how urgent a symptom is
Our guide to what happens at an NHS Health Check explains one route to having your heart health looked at.
Closing thoughts: small tweaks beat strict rules
For most people, staying within 6g is less about the salt shaker and more about the loaf, the cereal bowl, the sandwich and the ready meal. Reading labels per 100g, checking portion sizes, flavouring with herbs and spices and eating very salty foods less often will move intake in the right direction. It is one thread in the wider picture described in our article on what a balanced everyday diet looks like, not a rule that needs to be followed with perfection.
This is general information, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or other qualified health professional. If you are worried about your blood pressure or any symptoms, speak to your GP or call NHS 111.
Sources: NHS; GOV.UK
