The daily sodium figure is a committee's estimate, not a measurement
Adults are given 1,500 mg of sodium a day, about 3.8 g of table salt, and 3,400 mg of potassium for men or 2,600 mg for women. No measured requirement exists.
What the study found
1,500 mg of sodium a day is an estimate, not a measurement
An adequate intake is what a committee sets when it cannot derive a measured requirement. On that basis adults are given 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day, about 3.8 grams of table salt, and 3,400 milligrams of potassium for men or 2,600 milligrams for women.
The caveat · For daily diets, not for exercise
These are general-population reference values, not sport nutrition, and they describe what a healthy adult is thought to need over a day rather than what anyone should drink during exercise. The salt equivalent is arithmetic from the sodium figure, not a separately measured value. The report's own opening observation is that what you eat does not usually move your blood electrolyte levels, because the kidneys and hormones hold them steady.