Where’s the sodium?

Most of the sodium we eat comes from added salt in packaged or prepared foods. Only a small amount occurs naturally in foods. Check Nutrition Facts labels and choose foods with lower sodium levels.

Grains	Serving Size	Milligrams of Sodium
Cooked cereal, rice, pasta (unsalted)	1⁄2 cup	0—15
Ready-to-eat packaged cereal	1⁄2 cup	0—360
Bread	1 slice	120—210

Vegetables
Fresh or frozen, cooked without salt	1⁄2 cup	0—70
Canned or frozen with sauce	1⁄2 cup	190—430
Pasta sauce, jarred	1⁄2 cup	270—490

Fruits
Fresh, frozen, canned	1⁄2 cup	0—5

Dairy
Milk	1 cup	110
Yogurt	1 cup	85—190
Natural cheeses	1 1⁄2 oz	90—480
American cheese, processed	1 slice	200—240

Nuts, Seeds, and Legumes
Nuts, unsalted	1⁄3 cup	0—5
Nuts, salted	1⁄3 cup	70—260
Beans, cooked from dried or frozen (unsalted)	1⁄2 cup	0—10
Beans, canned	1⁄2 cup	130—450

Meats, Fish, and Poultry
Fresh or frozen meat, fish, poultry	3 oz	55—75
Fresh or frozen poultry, with broth	3 oz	100—170
Tuna, canned, water pack	3 oz	140—180
Turkey breast, lunch meat	3 oz	540—810
Ham, lean, roasted	3 oz	920—950

Tips:

Eat your veggies: Choose plain fresh, frozen, or canned (low-sodium or no-salt-added) vegetables and season them yourself.

Fresh is best: Choose fresh or frozen skinless poultry, fish, and lean cuts of meat rather than those that are marinated, canned, smoked, brined, or cured.

Go “low or no”: Check the Nutrition Facts labels to compare sodium levels in foods. Choose low- or reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added versions of foods.

Pay attention to preparation: Limit cured foods (such as bacon and

ham); foods packed in brine (such as pickles, pickled vegetables, olives, and sauerkraut); and condiments (such as mustard, horseradish, ketchup, and bar-

becue sauce). Limit even lower sodium versions of soy sauce and teriyaki

sauce, which should be used as sparingly as table salt.

Subtract, don’t add: Canned foods such as tuna and beans can be rinsed to remove some of the sodium. Cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals without salt. Cut back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, which usually have added salt.

Limit salty processed foods: Skip or limit frozen dinners and mixed dishes such as pizza, packaged mixes, canned soups or broths, and salad dressings, which often have a lot of sodium. Prepare and eat more foods at home, where you can control how much sodium is added.

Spice it up: Boost flavor with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free

seasoning blends instead of salt or salty seasonings like soy sauce, spice blends, or soup mixes. Start by cutting salt in half and work your way toward healthy substitutes.

Source: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/DASH