Use the Label to Find Low-Sodium Foods
added 12/26/08
by Mary Saucier Choate, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Food and Nutrition Educator
The “Sodium” section of the “Nutrition Facts” panel on food packages provides the sodium milligrams for one serving of the food. This is powerful information for those keeping on a low sodium eating “budget.”
What Do The Sodium Label Claims Really Mean?
- Sodium-free—less than 5 mg per serving
- Very low sodium—35 mg sodium or less per serving
- Low-sodium—140 mg sodium or less per serving
- Unsalted/Without added salt/No salt added—No salt was added during processing
- Reduced sodium/Less sodium—at least 25% less sodium per serving than the salted version
- Light in sodium/Lightly salted—at least 50% less sodium per serving than the salted version
Remember, if a food is very high in sodium, reducing the sodium by 25 or 50 percent still means it is a high sodium choice.
Watch Out For High Sodium Choices
Most of the sodium in food comes from food processing. To boost flavor inexpensively, food processors add lots of salt.
Processed foods such as chicken nuggets, deli meat, breaded fish, sauces, soups, many breakfast cereals, and snacks can have lots of added sodium. For example, a 3-oz. broiled, skinless chicken breast contains 64 milligrams of sodium. The same amount of breaded and fried breast can set you back over 500 milligrams of sodium!
How Much Sodium Should I Eat?
The latest recommendations from the Institute of Medicine recommends 1500 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day for ages 9 through age 50, going down to 1300 mg a day from ages 51 through 70, and then down again to 1200 mg a day for those older than 70. The upper limit recommended for sodium is 2300 mg/day. Depending on your personal health, you may be aiming for more or less than this amount of sodium.
What Is the Difference Between Table Salt, Sea Salt And Sodium?
Whether it’s table salt or sea salt, all salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Sea salt may also have a very tiny amount of additional minerals, which are not significant nutritionally, but may add a subtle flavor difference.
One level teaspoon (6 grams) of table salt contains approximately 2,300 mg sodium. One teaspoon of sea salt (approx. 5 grams) contains about 1,960 mg of sodium (varies between brands). The reason for the difference? Sea salt is “chunkier” than table salt; so a teaspoon of it will contain more air between the chunks and less salt.
Get Rid of Seasoning Packets
The little seasoning packets that come with boxed rice and pasta mixes are very high in sodium. You might try using only half of it to start cutting back on the sodium, or try the recipe below to make your own low sodium rice pilaf seasoning:
Sodium-free Rice Pilaf Seasoning (less than 5 mg of sodium per entire recipe)
1 Tbs. oregano
1 tsp. dried ground sage
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
Stir ingredients together well and store in airtight container at room temperature. Use one tablespoon to replace the seasoning packet that comes with the boxed mix. It’s also a great seasoning for soups and stews.
For More Information About Sodium
- Also see the Co-op brochure: Low Sodium Eating
- Check out our Co-op low sodium food list at the service desk or online. The Co-op lower sodium foods guide is available free-of-charge at the service desk and online here.
- Search “sodium” at the American Heart Association website
Want to Know More?
Check out Mary’s article on low-sodium eating. Have some thoughts about this article? We’d love to hear from you! Please email us your suggestion or question. Want to sign up for the email version of the Co-op News? Join our list!
