A low sodium diet is a diet that includes no more than 1,500 to 2,400 mg of

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...

per day. The human minimum requirement for sodium in the diet is about 500 mg per day, which is typically less than one-sixth as much as many diets "seasoned to taste". For certain people with salt-sensitive blood pressure or diseases such as

Ménière's disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initi ...

, this extra intake may cause a negative effect on health.

Health effects

A low sodium diet has a useful effect to reduce blood pressure, both in people with hypertension and in people with normal blood pressure. Taken together, a low salt diet (median of approximately 4.4 g/day – approx 1800 mg sodium) in hypertensive people resulted in a decrease in

systolic blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

by 4.2 mmHg, and in diastolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg. Advising people to eat a low salt diet, however, is of unclear effect in either hypertensive or normal tensive people. In 2012, the British Journal ''Heart'' published an article claiming that a low salt diet appears to increase the risk of death in those with

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

, but the article was retracted in 2013. The article was retracted by the journal when it was found that two of the studies cited contained duplicate data that could not be verified. A doctor might prescribe a low sodium diet for patients with

diabetes insipidus Diabetes insipidus (DI), recently renamed to Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency (AVP-D) and Arginine Vasopressin Resistance (AVP-R), is a condition characterized by large amounts of dilute urine and increased thirst. The amount of urine produced ...

Food and drink contents

Sodium occurs naturally in most foods. The most common form of sodium is sodium chloride, which may be found sold as — depending on the size and shape of the salt crystals —

table salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...

, and kosher salt, among others. Milk, beets, and celery also naturally contain sodium, as does drinking water, although the amount varies depending on the source. Sodium is also added to various food products. Some of these added forms are

monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wi ...

(MSG),

sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite ...

sodium saccharin Saccharin (''aka'' saccharine, Sodium sacchari) is an artificial sweetener with effectively no nutritional value. It is about 550 times as sweet as sucrose but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Saccharin is ...

baking soda Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3� ...

(sodium bicarbonate), and

sodium benzoate Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C6H5COONa. Production Sodium benzoate is commo ...

. Because large amounts of salts are given out by regenerative

water softener Water softening is the removal of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. The resulting soft water requires less soap for the same cleaning effort, as soap is not wasted bonding with calcium ions. Soft water also exten ...

s, over 60 cities in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

have banned them because of elevated salt levels in ground water reclamation projects. Water labeled as "drinking water" in supermarkets contains natural sodium since it is usually only filtered with a carbon filter and will contain any sodium present in the source water.''Sodium, Your Health, and Your Drinking Water'' by Gene Shaparenko, Aqua Technology Water Stores
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High sodium content

Condiments and seasonings such as Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce,

onion salt An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

garlic salt Garlic salt is a seasoned salt made of a mixture of dried, ground garlic and table salt with an anti-caking agent (e.g. calcium silicate Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes ...

, and

bouillon cube A bouillon cube ( Canada and US), stock cube ( Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and UK), or broth cube (Asia) is dehydrated broth or stock formed into a small cube about wide. It is typically made from dehydrated vegetable ...

s contain sodium.

Processed meat Processed meat is considered to be any meat which has been modified in order to either improve its taste or to extend its shelf life. Methods of meat processing include salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, and/or the addition of chemical pr ...

s, such as bacon,

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

, and

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

, and canned soups and vegetables are all examples of foods that contain added sodium. Fast foods are generally very high in sodium. Also, processed foods such as

potato chip A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...

frozen dinner A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...

s and

cured meat Curing is any of various food preservation and flavoring processes of foods such as meat, fish and vegetables, by the addition of salt, with the aim of drawing moisture out of the food by the process of osmosis. Because curing increases the solu ...

s have high sodium content.

Low sodium content

Unprocessed, fresh foods, such as fresh fruits, most vegetables, beef, poultry, fish and unprocessed grains are low in sodium. Low– or no–sodium products, and corresponding versions of products otherwise high in sodium, can be found in stores as well as online.

Salt substitute A salt substitute, also known as low-sodium salt, is a low-sodium alternative to edible salt (table salt) marketed to circumvent the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease associated with a high intake of sodium chloride while main ...

s such as potassium chloride may be used to provide a similar taste to salt while reducing sodium intake, and flavor additives such as

can help reduce sodium intake by enhancing other flavors. Other foods that are low in sodium include: *Seasonings: Black, cayenne, or lemon pepper, mustard, some chili or hot sauces *Herbs: Dried or fresh garlic, garlic/onion powder (no salt), dill, parsley, rosemary, basil, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, oregano, ginger, vinegar, cumin, nutmeg *Most fresh fruits and vegetables, exceptions include

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, ...

, carrots,

beets The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

, and spinach *Dried beans, peas, rice, lentils *Macaroni, pasta, noodles, rice, barley (cooked in unsalted water) *Honey, sugar *Unsalted butter *Unsalted dry curd cottage cheese *Fresh beef, pork, lamb, fish, shrimp, egg *Milk, yogurt *Hot cereals *Club soda, coffee, seltzer water, soy milk, tea''Sodium: Are you getting too much?'' Mayo Clinic
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References

{{Diets Diets

Health effects

Food and drink contents

High sodium content

Low sodium content

See also

References