Sodium Intake Calculator

Overview

The sodium intake calculator adds up the sodium (mg) in everything you ate today, converts the total into grams of salt, and compares it with the WHO limit and the Korean Dietary Reference Intakes. Pick presets such as jjamppong, kimchi stew, or convenience-store gimbap, enter how many servings you had, and you immediately see total sodium, the salt equivalent, and how far over or under the limit you are. You can type a label value directly, or reverse the conversion by entering grams of salt to get milligrams of sodium.

Formula

Salt (g) = sodium (mg) x 2.542 ÷ 1,000, where 2.542 is the molar mass of sodium chloride (58.44) divided by that of sodium (22.99). The reverse is sodium (mg) = salt (g) x 1,000 ÷ 2.542, so 5 g of salt is about 1,967 mg of sodium. Total sodium = Σ(sodium per serving x number of servings), and percent of limit = total ÷ limit x 100. The limit can be the WHO adult recommendation of 2,000 mg/day (about 5 g of salt), the Korean Chronic Disease Risk Reduction intake (CDRR) of 2,300 mg, the Adequate Intake (AI) of 1,500 mg, or a custom value. Korea's daily value for sodium on food labels is also 2,000 mg.

How to Use

1. 1Choose the reference limit (default: WHO 2,000 mg; pick CDRR 2,300 mg for the Korean standard).
2. 2Use 'add item' to pick each food you ate from the soup/noodle, convenience/delivery, and side-dish/seasoning groups.
3. 3Enter how many servings of each (bowls, packs, rolls, plates). Half servings are allowed.
4. 4If you know the sodium value on the nutrition label, choose 'custom' and enter the milligrams directly.
5. 5Read the total sodium, the salt equivalent in grams, the percent of the limit, and the amount over or under.
6. 6To convert salt weight into sodium, enter grams in the reverse-conversion box.

Examples

Background

WHO recommends adults keep sodium below 2,000 mg per day (about 5 g of salt), because excess sodium raises blood pressure and with it the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, gastric cancer and kidney disease. In Korea, the 2020 Korean Dietary Reference Intakes set an Adequate Intake of 1,500 mg for adults aged 19–64 and a Chronic Disease Risk Reduction intake of 2,300 mg, advising anyone above 2,300 mg to cut back. The daily value printed on Korean food labels is 2,000 mg, and since 2022 packaged foods may also show sodium content on a colour-banded comparison scale. Korean diets concentrate sodium in soups, stews, kimchi and fermented pastes, which is why the MFDS restaurant nutrition database is topped by broth dishes such as jjamppong (1,000 g, 4,000 mg) and udon (3,396 mg).

Tips

• ✔The 'sodium' on a label is not salt weight. Multiply sodium in mg by 2.542 and divide by 1,000 for grams of salt — 2,000 mg is about 5 g.
• ✔Leaving the broth matters most. A pack of ramyeon is 1,790 mg with the soup finished, but roughly 1,000–1,500 mg if you mostly eat the noodles.
• ✔Dishes served with 800–1,000 g of broth — jjamppong, udon, naengmyeon — blow through the daily limit in one bowl. Skip soup at your other meals that day.
• ✔One tablespoon (15 g) of soy sauce is about 870 mg. Serve dipping sauces in a small dish instead of pouring them over the food.
• ✔Potassium-rich vegetables, fruit and legumes help the body excrete sodium — but if you have kidney disease, potassium is also restricted, so do not increase it on your own.
• ✔Check whether a package lists sodium 'per total contents' or 'per serving'. If you finished a large cup noodle, multiply by the number of servings.

FAQ