Here’s your quick guide to mastering a low sodium diet for your health. Including simple food lists and tips to stay on track while eating out and at home.
Sodium is an electrolyte and mineral essential for life that is naturally occurring in small amounts in many foods including vegetables like celery and beets.
It plays a role in many bodily processes such as regulating blood pressure, nerve transmission, muscle contractions, and maintenance of fluid balances.
Sodium deficiency is rare because it is naturally present within most foods but also because it is commonly added to foods in the form of salt.
Salt and sodium are often used interchangeably, but they are actually different things.
Salt is a mixture of sodium and chloride.
Salt is one of the most common sources of dietary sodium, as it is often added during the cooking or manufacturing process or as a preservation agent. Over 70% of the sodium Americans eat comes from packaged, prepared, and restaurant foods, not the salt shaker (1).
We get into trouble when we intake too much sodium, no matter what form it comes in.
Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium in your body; if there is too much or you have underlying kidney complications, sodium may build up in your blood leading to a cascade of health problems (2,3).
Sodium is a vital micronutrient beneficial to proper health, but too much sodium in our diet has been linked to health complications such as high blood pressure and heart disease (4).
The majority of people get way too much in their diet, with an average intake of around 3,400 mg per day (4).
The daily recommendation of sodium is less than 2,300 mg per day (5,6).
To put this into perspective, one teaspoon of table salt = 2,300 mg of sodium!
When following this protocol, it's recommended to limit high sodium foods or completely avoid them in order to keep your intake under the recommended level.
Cutting back can feel challenging at first, but it doesn’t have to be. It starts by learning what foods to eat less of and which to stock up on. Plus you'll reap the health benefits of building a healthier diet.
One of the most popular low sodium diets used for heart health is the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
Low sodium diets are commonly prescribed for a variety of conditions because research suggests that restricting sodium intake may help prevent and manage certain medical conditions.
These guidelines are even stricter for people following a cardiac diet or anyone with high blood pressure with experts recommending they may need less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day - this would be considered a low sodium diet (7).
Patients with heart failure or high blood pressure often benefit from a lower intake because sodium can cause water retention, worsening symptoms of hypertension, edema, and fluid build-up (8,9).
Studies suggest that patients with chronic kidney disease also benefit from a low sodium protocol as excess dietary sodium interferes with kidney function, and affects fluid volume, proteinuria, and immunosuppressant therapy (10,11).
Sodium may also affect the development of osteoporosis as increased dietary sodium can lead to calcium deficiency; although we can combat this by eating more potassium-rich foods, a low-sodium protocol is a more sustainable option to protect us from bone loss (12).
A low sodium diet means to ingest no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day of sodium, with the ideal amount being less than 1,500 mg per day for most adults (13).
Start by tracking your current sodium intake by using a nutrition tracking app.
This is an easy way to understand where the majority of your dietary sodium is coming from, where to start making healthy swaps, and to ensure you are staying on top of the recommended guidelines and sticking to a low salt diet overall.
There are multiple ways to track your intake, you can try using a fitness app like the Trifecta App, a food journal, or calculate how many calories you need per day.
Try this free calorie calculator to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in a few minutes:
Try logging everything you eat and drink in a food tracking app and use your daily and weekly nutrition analytics to see exactly how much sodium per day you consume.
Planning some or all of your meals in advance is another great way to take control of your nutrition - especially since you know exactly what you’re getting each day.
You don’t have to rely on complicated recipes and fancy ingredients to be successful, start with simple meal ideas and find what works best for you!
Use this free menu planning template to choose foods and map out your heart-healthy menu for the week.
There are a ton of diets out there, paleo, keto, vegan, whole-foods, flexitarian; all of these can be modified to be low sodium as long as you focus on consuming fresh whole foods and limiting the amount of salt you add to foods when cooking.
A few key tips to remember when planning your meals for a low sodium diet:
Take matters into your own hands by learning how to meal prep your lunches and cook healthy dinners at home.
The following foods are naturally low in sodium, use these as a resource when planning your grocery list!
Keep in mind that most fresh fruits, vegetables, raw unprocessed proteins, uncooked whole grains, and anything in its most natural whole form is probably low-sodium. If it's a packaged food item, there is more likely added sodium.
We've also put an asterisk next to foods high in Potassium as Potassium is thought to help counteract some of the negative effects of high sodium intake. Most fresh fruits and veggies tend to be a good source of potassium, along with other beneficial nutrients - making them an excellent choice all around.
Remember that your diet is an accumulation of everything you eat in a day, so although some foods may be higher in sodium, you can balance out your daily intake by being mindful of your meals.
Fruits | Vegetables |
All fruits are low sodium as long as they are fresh and unprocessed. Bananas* Melons* Oranges* & Citrus Apples Grapes Berries (strawberries, blueberries etc.) Kiwi Papaya Guava
|
All Fresh and frozen unsalted vegetables No-salt-added or low-sodium canned vegetables or tomatoes Leafy Greens* Potatoes Tomatoes Zucchini Butternut Squash Spaghetti Squash Spinach Kale Green Beans Cruciferous Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts etc.) |
Whole Grains | Beans and Legumes* |
Brown or Wild Rice Quinoa Barley CousCous Whole-wheat or whole-grain pasta Oats or shredded wheat Unsalted Popcorn Low-Sodium Chips and Pretzels Whole-Grain Bread, bagels, English muffins, tortillas, and crackers Homemade waffles & pancakes with no salt Rice Noodles/No-salt noodles Any processed grains or cereals with more than 180 mg sodium per serving |
If Canned, choose low-sodium or no-sodium: Kidney Beans Pinto Beans Black Beans Lima Beans Black-Eyed Peas Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas) Split Peas Lentils
|
Nuts & Seeds (Unsalted) | Unseasoned Proteins & Seafood |
All seeds and nuts as long as they are unsalted: Almonds Peanuts Pumpkin Seeds Pine Nuts Sunflower Seeds Chia Seeds Flax Seeds
|
All proteins as long as they are unseasoned, no marinades, etc: Eggs Salmon* Chicken (breast, thigh, whole, ground) Turkey Beef (ground, steak, etc.) Pork Lamb & Veal Fresh or frozen fish and seafood Low-Sodium canned tuna |
Dairy Products | Fats, Oils & Vinegar |
Low fat-milk* and milk products Yogurt (greek) Low-Sodium Cheese Soymilk
|
All oils and vinegars are considered low-sodium: Grapeseed Oil Flaxseed Oil Nut Oils (walnut, almond, sunflower etc.) Apple Cider Vinegar |
* Foods rich in potassium
The majority of salt intake happens when dining out at restaurants, eating fast food, or consuming a lot of packaged and prepared foods like the following:
Additionally, foods naturally higher in sodium include:
If eating a packaged food item, always check the nutrition facts label to check the sodium levels in your food choices.
As a general rule of thumb, anything with lower than 5% of the daily value for sodium is considered “low”, and anything with more than 20% is “high” (7).
Use this simple chart to understand basic sodium claims and guide your food purchases next time you shop:
Label Claim |
Meaning |
Salt/Sodium-Free |
Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving |
Very Low Sodium |
35 mg of sodium or less per serving |
Low Sodium |
140 mg of sodium or less per serving |
Reduced Sodium |
At least 25% less sodium than the original product |
Light in Sodium or Lightly Salted |
At least 50% less sodium than the original product |
No-Salt-Added or Unsalted |
No salt is added during processing – but these products may not be salt/sodium-free |
When eating at a restaurant or grabbing anything prepared outside of your home, ask your server to skip the salt if possible.
You can also opt for dishes made without common high sodium ingredients like sauces, breading, and cheese, and stick more simple ingredients. For example, instead of chicken parmesan, try a grilled chicken breast.
You can also check the restaurant’s website for nutrition information in advance or ask your server if this information is available. This will help you know exactly how much sodium you’re getting with your meal choice.
It is entirely possible to add a ton of flavor to your food without reaching for the salt every time. Utlizing herbs, spices, and seasonings such as vinegar is the perfect way to skip the salt and pack the flavor.
You'll also get the added bonus of small amounts of healthy minerals and phytonutrients from using fresh and dried herbs and spices.
Here are some great salt substitutes without all the sodium:
To help you get started, here is an example of a simple, healthy low sodium diet that requires little food prep and won’t break the bank.
Breakfast | Nutrition |
|
327 calories 128 mg sodium 1014 mg potassium |
Lunch | Nutrition |
|
513 calories 213 mg sodium 1569 mg potassium |
Dinner | Nutrition |
|
401 calories 222 mg sodium 590 mg potassium |
Snack | Nutrition |
|
273 calories 3 mg sodium 383 mg potassium |
Not interested in making your own meals or having trouble balancing your salt intake? Put your sodium-controlled diet on autopilot by opting for a trusted meal delivery company that has pre-cooked proteins, grains, and veggies made with minimal seasonings.
Trifecta Classic Meals and A la Carte can help you cut back on sodium while providing tons of nutritious, quality foods to your day.