Americans regularly eat 1,000 mg more sodium than the recommended daily limit of 2,300 mg, mostly from processed foods and restaurant meals. (Your recommended daily limit is even lower at 1,500 mg if you’re 51 years or older, African American, have high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease.) Help your heart and blood pressure: cook from scratch as much as possible so you can control the amount of added salt and be creative with how you flavor foods. Use plenty of spices, fresh herbs and vinegar or citrus.