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If you’ve been hospitalized for heart issues recently, you may have been ordered a cardiac diet and/or given instructions to follow a cardiac diet at home. Or maybe you’re caring for someone who is in that situation.

The hospital diet and/or home instructions may have come with a “gram sodium” recommendation in addition to the cardiac specification. Or maybe the instructions were just for a particular “gram sodium” diet.

If all of this sounds to you like a language that only healthcare professionals understand, you’re not alone. In this article you’ll find out exactly what a 2 gram sodium diet means and how you can use this information to make nutrition choices that will benefit your heart.

Graphic advertising the free low sodium diet shopping list.

Quick disclaimer—although I am a registered dietitian nutritionist, your reading of this or any articles on this website does not constitute medical nutrition therapy advice nor create a practitioner-client relationship. The information I provide here on this website is for educational and informational purposes only. Please see my full disclaimer for more information.

Understanding the “Gram”

A good first step in our discussion would be an explanation of the “gram” terminology, since it may sound different from what you’ve heard about sodium from a healthcare professional or read on the nutrition facts label.

If you’ve been checking the nutrition facts labels on foods, you’ve probably seen the abbreviation “mg,” which stands for the unit “milligrams,” on the line showing a food’s sodium content. This is the usual way that the sodium content of food products is described to us as consumers. 

In contrast to the wording on the food label, diets in the hospital setting often use the “gram” as their unit of measure, instead of “milligram”. I am not sure of the exact reason for this, but it does make for a quicker way to describe the diet when you’re talking about it to other healthcare professionals or when the food service staff is working to prepare patients’ meals.

That being said, if you see or hear the word “gram” next to a number, just remember that one gram is equal to 1,000 milligrams. So for example, if you see the “2 gram sodium” terminology, it is therefore equal to 2,000 milligrams.

An important takeaway from this explanation of the gram is that it will generally mean that the diet is controlled in how much sodium it is providing per day. In other words, for heart patients, the diet is helping you manage how much sodium you’re eating on a daily basis.

Quick Definition

A 2 gram sodium diet is an eating plan that is controlled in how much sodium it provides. It is the same thing as a 2,000 milligram (mg) sodium diet.

Importance of the 2 Gram Sodium Diet

Now that we’ve discussed the meaning of the gram terminology, let’s move on to why this is significant for heart patients.

If you’re a heart patient and had been on a sodium controlled diet in the hospital, it’s likely that your doctor wants you to monitor how much sodium you’re taking in each day. Based on the evidence we have currently, reducing your sodium intake from the foods you eat is a helpful way to both lower blood pressure and keep your heart and blood vessels working as they should.

There is also research in the works that seems to indicate that the more dietary sodium we take in from our food, the more it can be stored in our muscles and lead to problems down the road for our health.1 Therefore, for most people, keeping sodium intake limited is a wise strategy.

Why Is A 2 Gram Sodium Diet Important?

A diet lower in sodium can help to lower blood pressure and potentially reduce risk for further disease or other health complications.

How Much Sodium Is Right?

This brings us to the question of how much sodium is a good amount to consume each day. And the answer may vary a little bit in practice.

For example, in some situations, patients in the cardiac unit at the hospital were allowed a higher amount of sodium per day (3 or 4 gram sodium diet). But for others, a stricter amount of sodium per day was needed, often seen as the 2 gram sodium diet (in other words, 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day).

If you’re not sure how much sodium is right for you, it would be a great idea for you to check with your doctor or dietitian, since each person is different.

But if you aren’t able to do that at the moment, a reasonable recommendation to consider would be the amount that this article is all about–2 grams of sodium or 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day.

This recommendation is in line with the American Heart Association Guidelines and is very close to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It is a reasonable amount for most people.2

Don’t forget that your needs may be different, so do try to check with your healthcare provider as soon as you can to be sure of what is right for you.

How Much Sodium Should I Have?

A good starting point to aim for would be around 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day (the 2 gram sodium diet). Check with your healthcare professional for guidance that is specific for your needs.

Applying the 2 Gram Sodium Diet in Real Life

Now that we’ve discussed what the 2 gram sodium diet is and why it is important, let’s move on to some tips for making it work for you. 

As a first step, think about what you normally eat on most days. Are you often buying fruit and vegetables, whole grains, plain boxed pasta or rice, fresh meats and poultry without marinades? 

When looking for canned foods, are you looking for items that say “no salt added” or “reduced sodium”? Do you compare between brands to find the lowest sodium item that you can?

If you’re unsure how to figure out which foods will work best, you can look at the percent daily values on the right hand side of the label to get a broader idea. If a food is 20% or more of the daily value for sodium per serving, it may not be the best choice for you.

The lower the percent daily value number is, the lower in sodium the product is, and the more likely it is to be helpful for you. Now there are some exceptions, like candy and soda, so remember to look at the overall nutritional quality of the item when you’re checking the sodium content.

If you feel more confident with label reading, you can add up the amounts of sodium from the items you eat to check your total daily intake. If you’re somewhere around 2,000 milligrams, then you’re doing well!

In summary, if your doctor has told you to watch how much sodium you take in each day, then paying close attention to the label as well as choosing items naturally low in sodium are good strategies to follow to help your heart.

By doing so, you may be reducing the risk for further chronic disease, or slowing the progression of disease, in addition to taking in more vitamins and minerals, fiber, protein, and other heart-healthy nutrients.

Label Reading Tip

You can check the percent daily values on the right side of the label to get an idea of how low or high the amount of sodium in a food is.

Conclusion

In conclusion, is following a 2 gram sodium diet a good thing? The answer is that for most people with heart issues, reducing the amount of sodium in your diet is probably a good strategy. However, it is always important to check with your healthcare team for any considerations specific to you. 

So the next time you see or hear the term “2 gram sodium diet,” you’ll know that it’s a low sodium diet that falls in line with current guidelines from respected health organizations.

If you want to find a dietitian who can help you figure out what is best for you, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website to locate a professional near you: https://www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert

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Sources

  1. Kolwelter J, Uder M, Schmieder RE. Tissue sodium content in hypertension and related organ damage. J Hypertens. 2020;30(12):2363-2368. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000002580.
  2. American Heart Association Editorial Staff. How Much Sodium Should I Eat Per Day? Heart.org. Updated January 5, 2024. Accessed June 22, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sodium/how-much-sodium-should-i-eat-per-day.

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