Experts still debate the “right” amount of sodium because people vary widely in how they handle salt. Sodium helps regulate extracellular fluid volume, nerve conduction, and muscle contraction, but chronic excess intake can raise blood pressure in many individuals by increasing plasma volume and altering vascular tone. The key clinical issue is salt sensitivity: some people show a meaningful blood-pressure rise with higher sodium intake, while others show little change.
Aging and Kidney’s ability to handle salt
Women often become more salt-sensitive with age. Two physiologic shifts drive much of this: declining renal sodium excretion capacity over time, and the hormonal transition of menopause. As kidney function gradually changes, the kidneys may excrete sodium less efficiently, making the same sodium load more likely to expand fluid volume and increase blood pressure. After menopause, changes in estrogen signaling can also influence vascular reactivity and renal handling of sodium, nudging blood pressure upward in susceptible patients.
So what target makes sense? Many guidelines place an upper limit around 2,300 mg of sodium per day (roughly one teaspoon of table salt total, including sodium already in foods), while other organizations recommend aiming closer to 1,500 mg per day—especially for people with hypertension, kidney disease, diabetes, or elevated cardiovascular risk. You can view 2,300 mg as a “do not exceed most days” ceiling and 1,500 mg as a “therapeutic target” for blood-pressure reduction in higher-risk patients. Both can be reasonable depending on your baseline blood pressure, kidney function, medications, and overall cardiometabolic risk profile.
70% of Women at age 60 have High blood pressure, Salt is a Factor
Population examples add perspective: some traditional diets have been reported to contain very high sodium intakes, while others remain extremely low. These observations do not prove that “high sodium is safe,” because genetics, potassium intake, activity level, and overall dietary pattern differ substantially across groups. What consistently shows up in the best outcomes is not a single sodium number—it’s the overall pattern of eating.
Eating without salt
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables and including low-fat dairy (think DASH-style patterns) correlate with lower blood pressure and lower cardiovascular risk, regardless of where someone starts. These patterns tend to be lower in sodium while being naturally high in potassium and calcium—two nutrients that support healthier blood pressure regulation. Potassium promotes natriuresis (sodium excretion) and supports vascular relaxation. Calcium plays roles in vascular smooth muscle function and may modestly improve blood-pressure control in people with low baseline intake. In practice, you get more leverage by improving dietary pattern than by fixating on sodium alone.
That said, sustained high sodium intake over years links to higher blood pressure in many people, and lowering sodium intake tends to reduce blood pressure across a wide range of body sizes and ages. Research repeatedly shows benefit not only in hypertension, but also in people with “normal” blood pressure—because even small downward shifts in population blood pressure translate into meaningful reductions in stroke and heart disease risk over time.
It’s Not Just What You Add, Salt is Rampant in Our Food
The challenge is that sodium hides in plain sight. Packaged breads, soups, sauces, deli meats, cheeses, restaurant meals, and “healthy” convenience foods can quietly deliver a large sodium dose. Even sports drinks and electrolyte products add sodium—sometimes appropriately, sometimes unnecessarily. If you just finished a long, sweaty workout (especially hot yoga, vigorous vinyasa, or an endurance session), you may need some sodium replacement. If you did a short, low-sweat workout, you usually do not. Sweat losses vary dramatically by person, temperature, intensity, and acclimatization, so avoid defaulting to electrolyte products unless your training load truly warrants them.
If you cut back on salt, you do not have to accept bland food. Use acids and aromatics to “wake up” flavor: lemon or lime juice, vinegars, garlic, ginger, mustard, chiles, and toasted spices. Then lean on herbs—parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (yes, it practically hums on its own). Add umami without heavy sodium by using mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, citrus zest, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, or salt-free spice blends. When you do use salt, use it intentionally: a small amount at the end of cooking often tastes “saltier” than a larger amount added early.
You Have Risk Factors, Getting a Score Can help
For a more advanced, individualized view of sodium targets, put salt into the context of overall cardiovascular risk. Calculate a Framingham Risk Score (or another validated risk estimator used in your health system), check blood pressure trends (home readings help), and get lipid testing when appropriate. Then review the full picture—blood pressure, lipids, glucose status, kidney function, family history, smoking status, and menopausal status—with your primary care clinician or your “Gyno Gal” if she’s managing your preventive care. When it comes to the heart, risk reduction beats perfection: optimize the dietary pattern, keep sodium reasonable for your risk level, and use yoga’s steady habit-building—consistent practice, mindful attention, and breath-led stress regulation—to support the long game of vascular health.
