Salt is technically not part of the strict Paleo diet. Hunter-gatherers consumed very little sodium, with most estimates placing their intake below 1,000 mg per day, a fraction of what modern diets deliver. But the Paleo community is genuinely split on this one, and the practical answer depends on which version of Paleo you follow, how active you are, and what type of salt you’re using.
What Hunter-Gatherers Actually Ate
The original case against salt on Paleo is straightforward: our ancestors didn’t have salt shakers. Analysis of Paleolithic diets estimates daily salt intake at roughly 1.7 grams, which translates to about 690 mg of sodium. For context, the average American consumes around 3,400 mg of sodium per day, nearly five times that amount.
Studies of modern hunter-gatherer societies that still eat traditional diets confirm this pattern. The Yanomamo Indians of Brazil consume as little as 46 mg of sodium daily. Bushmen in Botswana take in about 800 mg. Alaskan Eskimos sit at the higher end, around 1,564 mg, likely because of their heavy reliance on animal blood and marine foods. Nearly all of these populations have low rates of high blood pressure, which is a big part of why Paleo purists view added salt with suspicion.
The sodium our ancestors did get came entirely from whole foods: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and some insects. Nobody was mining rock salt or evaporating seawater into crystals. Salt as a deliberate food additive is an invention of agricultural and trade societies.
Why Strict Paleo Excludes Added Salt
Loren Cordain, the researcher who popularized the Paleo diet, argued that salt should be avoided because our bodies evolved in an environment where it was scarce. His position: humans developed strong cravings for salt precisely because it was rare and necessary in small amounts. Overconsumption was never an issue in the wild, so we never evolved a reliable “off switch” for it. Put that biology in a modern kitchen full of salted, processed food, and you get chronic overconsumption.
Beyond sodium itself, the potassium-to-sodium ratio matters. Paleolithic diets were extremely rich in potassium from fruits, vegetables, and tubers, while being low in sodium. From Paleolithic times to modern times, the dietary potassium-to-sodium ratio has dropped by a factor of about 20. Among populations like the Yanomamo, who eat potassium-rich foods and no added salt, that factor may be 100 to 200 times different from a typical Western diet. This flipped ratio, not just high sodium alone, is what many researchers believe drives blood pressure problems.
The Case for Adding Salt Back In
Not everyone in the Paleo world agrees with the zero-salt approach. A growing number of Paleo and ancestral health advocates argue that if you’re eating a whole-foods diet with no processed food, you’re actually getting very little sodium and may need to add some back deliberately.
Robb Wolf, one of the most prominent voices in the Paleo community, has become a vocal proponent of sodium supplementation, particularly for people eating low-carb or ketogenic versions of Paleo. His reasoning: low-carb diets keep insulin levels low, which causes the kidneys to flush out more sodium and water. Athletes can lose enormous amounts during exercise. Professional athletes can shed 10 grams of sodium in a single game. Wolf recommends at least 5 grams of sodium per day for most people eating minimally processed diets, and up to 10 to 12 grams for very active or larger individuals. That’s well above both government guidelines and ancestral intake levels.
This is a significant departure from Cordain’s original framework, and it reflects a broader shift in how some Paleo followers think about the diet. Rather than recreating exact Paleolithic conditions, they aim to optimize health using ancestral principles as a starting point.
Which Type of Salt Fits Best
If you do use salt on a Paleo diet, the type matters to most practitioners. Standard table salt is generally considered the least Paleo-friendly option, not because of the sodium chloride itself, but because of what’s added to it. Commercial table salt typically contains anti-caking agents like yellow prussiate of soda (a ferrocyanide compound) to prevent clumping. It’s also heavily refined, stripped of any trace minerals that were present in the original source.
Unrefined salts like sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, and Celtic grey salt are the go-to choices in Paleo cooking. These contain small amounts of additional minerals. Lab analysis of gourmet salts shows measurable calcium across all varieties, ranging from about 1,861 mg/kg in Hawaiian black salt to over 6,252 mg/kg in Persian blue salt, along with trace amounts of iron, zinc, and other elements. Himalayan pink salt falls in the middle of the pack for most minerals. These trace amounts are real but small. You’d need to eat unrealistic quantities of specialty salt to get meaningful nutrition from those minerals alone, so the practical advantage is more about avoiding additives than gaining micronutrients.
The Iodine Problem
One genuinely important consideration when cutting out table salt on Paleo: iodine. Iodized table salt is one of the primary sources of iodine in Western diets, and dairy products, the other major source, are also excluded on Paleo. A two-year clinical trial in postmenopausal women found that those following a Paleolithic-type diet saw their urinary iodine levels drop significantly within six months, while a control group eating a standard Nordic diet maintained normal levels. The researchers concluded that iodine supplementation should be considered for anyone following a Paleo diet.
You can get iodine from Paleo-compliant foods like seaweed, fish, shrimp, and eggs, but you have to be intentional about including them regularly. Seaweed is by far the most concentrated source. If you’re avoiding both iodized salt and dairy, and you’re not eating seafood several times a week, iodine deficiency is a real risk worth paying attention to.
Sodium and Heart Health
The relationship between sodium and cardiovascular health is less straightforward than the “salt is bad” message suggests. While excessive salt intake is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, several large studies suggest the relationship follows a U-shaped or J-shaped curve. Both very high and very low sodium intakes appear to be associated with worse outcomes. The sweet spot likely sits somewhere in the middle, though researchers are still working to define exactly where that is for different populations.
This nuance is part of why the Paleo community remains divided. The strict position (minimize sodium to ancestral levels) and the liberal position (add salt generously to a whole-foods diet) both have evidence they can point to, and both have gaps.
Paleo-Friendly Ways to Add Flavor
If you’re keeping salt low but still want savory depth in your cooking, several whole-food options work well within a Paleo framework. Coconut aminos, made from fermented coconut sap, serve as a lower-sodium alternative to soy sauce and work in stir-fries, marinades, and dressings. Fish sauce, while sodium-rich, is made from just fish and salt and adds intense flavor in small quantities. Celery, beets, and spinach are naturally higher in sodium than most vegetables. Seaweed flakes add both saltiness and iodine. And simply using more herbs, citrus, and vinegar can reduce how much salt you feel you need without sacrificing taste.