Where is sodium found in food

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Top 10 Sources of Sodium. Minus Related Pages. Get Email Updates. To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address: Email Address. What's this? For example, choose fresh meats instead of cured meats, and opt for fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables over canned — if you can.

If you're in a position where you need to eat canned foods, look for low-salt or no-salt versions; often, they'll be stocked right next to the full-sodium products. The NHLBI also recommends rinsing canned foods and other brine-soaked products before you use them — that'll help remove the sodium. Where Is Sodium Found Naturally?

Claudia is a registered dietitian with a PhD in physical activity, nutrition and wellness. She is an expert in intuitive eating and nutrition science. Lisa Maloney, CPT. Lisa is a retired personal trainer with more than 4, hours of hands-on experience working with a variety of clients, from sports teams to weight loss and post-rehab populations. She's also a professional writer. Sodium is found in pretty much all food; however, there is less in some than others.

Video of the Day. Tip Sodium occurs naturally in almost every food — but the sodium content in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is much lower than you'll find in highly processed foods. Sodium comes in many forms. Foodies and chefs may prefer kosher or sea salts for their taste, texture or color. But table salt, kosher salt and most sea salts all contain about 40 percent sodium by weight.

Even though sea salt may have some trace levels of minerals like magnesium, potassium and calcium, the amounts are tiny and you can get them from other healthy foods. Some varieties of sea salt may have less sodium than table salt. Sodium plays many roles on your plate. Adding flavor is probably its most well-known function. For example, sodium in the form of baking soda sodium bicarbonate is used to help bread and other baked goods rise.

Even though sodium plays a key role in many foods, more salt is often added than is necessary. The good news is that momentum to lower sodium is building.

Many food companies and some restaurants are tweaking their recipes to cut the sodium. Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers.

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