LOW SODIUM DIET: MENUS, FOODS AND TIPS - NUTRITION - 2025

The low sodium or low sodium diet focuses on trying to reduce salt levels through different types of foods and changing eating habits. It is well known by all that salt gives that genuine touch that many dishes lack, but it is also true that this is not entirely very beneficial, especially if it exceeds the recommended daily amount.

On many occasions, our body says enough and we need to lower the amount of salt that food carries with it, or that we directly add personally. The consequences can be fatal in many cases, even reaching a heart attack.

Salt is a mineral that contains high levels of sodium. This chemical element can be as harmful as it is beneficial to our body. Sodium levels directly influence our blood pressure or our heart capacity. The higher levels we present in our body, the more our blood pressure will increase and the more risk we will run of suffering from some type of heart failure.

When do these situations usually occur? Whenever our body exceeds the limits of ingested salt that our body is capable of supporting. Each organism tolerates different levels of sodium and there are no exact figures, but it is usually sought not to exceed 2,300-2500 milligrams a day.

How to limit salt in our body

Our body can regulate and limit sodium levels in our body. This can be achieved through a series of foods to take into account, in such a way that we find a sufficiently balanced diet, where vegetables and fruits are of special importance.

On the contrary, different canned foods show high levels of salt, such as anchovies or tuna in olive oil. Sauces also play a harmful role in this type of diet, as do processed products such as chips or crackers and derivatives.

Next we will go on to detail in more detail the different foods that contain higher and lower percentages of salt, and therefore sodium for our body.

Foods to follow the low sodium diet

Vegetables

We can choose different types of fresh vegetables such as spinach or broccoli without leaving the frozen ones behind, although yes, as long as they do not contain any type of sauce to dress.

We can also ingest different types of vegetable juices, and as always, that their ingredients contain minimal levels of salt.

Fruits

Bananas, apples or oranges are the ideal complement to a low sodium diet. To these we can add many others, whether fresh, frozen or canned, as long as they are in water or their own juice and never in syrup.

Cereals, legumes and nuts

In this group we find different types of rice and pasta together with unsweetened oatmeal.

If we talk about legumes, beans are the clear example of what can be eaten, while some nuts to accompany them never hurt as long as they do not have salt.

meats

Fresh meats, such as fish and seafood, together with chicken and turkey, are the type of meat most used in a diet of such characteristics.

We can also add, with care and knowing that they can have higher salt levels, meat from pork or even beef.

Dairy products

Skimmed milk, together with low-fat yogurts, can easily be extrapolated foods to our day to day.

On the other hand, these two types of food provide us with high levels of magnesium, which serves to improve and regulate our blood pressure, and as a consequence, benefit the sodium levels presented in our body.

Oils and condiments

In this last section we find margarine and butter to spread without salt and different oils such as olive, canola or sesame.

Vinegar is also accepted in the diet.

An exception can also be made with mayonnaise, as long as it is low in fat and tomato (also as a sauce) as long as we can find it under the label of "no added salt".

Drinks

In this section we can easily reduce the set of beverages to water intake.

Negative foods for low sodium diet

Frozen vegetables

You have to be careful with the different frozen vegetables that we can find. It can be ingested, but always taking care of the salt levels that may be present.

Fruits and unnatural fruits

Glazed fruits, nuts or the olives themselves are not suitable for seeking to reduce our sodium levels in the body.

Non-whole grains and legumes with additions

Breads, such as cookies, or industrial mass cereals are harmful to hypoglycemic diets.

Combinations such as sauces accompanied by condiments for rice and pasta are strictly prohibited, as well as adding salt to the boiling casserole.

As for foods such as beans, potatoes or peas, we must forget to add accompaniments such as ham or bacon. It is also important to avoid vacuum canning of this type of food.

Salted meats

Salted or preserved meats are the ones with the highest salt content. It goes without saying that frozen meats, such as toppings for pizzas or sausages for hot dogs, are strictly prohibited.

Dairy with salt

Chocolates, melted spreadable and cured cheeses, fall within the prohibited framework for dairy products along with butter.

Salt-rich oils and seasonings

Within the family of oils and seasonings, we find harmful foods because they are rich in salt for salad dressings, butters and margarine with salt or directly any type of sauce.

Carbonated drinks

It is advisable to avoid at all times any carbonated sodium drink, alcoholic drinks or softened water.

Desserts

It would be convenient to avoid industrial bakery products, and be careful with those from bakeries or artisanal ones.

Amounts of salt in different everyday foods

meats

1. Bacon - 1 medium slice - 155 mg
2. Chicken - 100 grams - 87 mg
3. Fried egg - 1 serving - 77 mg
4. Scrambled eggs with milk - 1 serving - 171 mg
5. Beans, peas, or lentils - 1 cup - 4 mg
6. Haddock - 85 grams- 74 mg
7. Hypoglossal - 3 oz - 59 mg
8. Roasted ham - 100 grams - from 1300 to 1500 mg
9. Hamburger - 100 grams - 77 mg
10. Hot dog - 1 serving - 585 mg
11. Peanuts - 30 grams - 228 mg
12. Pork loin - 100 grams- 65 mg
13. Salmon - 85 grams - 50 mg
14. Seafood - 85 grams - 100 to 325 mg
15. Shrimp - 85 grams - 190 mg
16. Pork ribs - 100 grams - 93 mg
17. Tuna - 100 grams - 300 mg

Dairy products

1. Asparagus - 6 spears - 10 mg
2. Avocado - half serving - 10 mg
3. Navy beans - 1 cup - 4 mg
4. Green beans - 1 cup - 4 mg
5. Beetroot - 1 cup - 84 mg
6. Raw broccoli - half cup - 12 mg
7. Cooked broccoli - half a cup - 20 mg
8. Raw carrot - half serving - 25 mg
9. Cooked carrot - half serving - 52 mg
10. Celery - 1 stalk - 35 mg
11. Sweet corn - half cup - 14 mg
12. Cucumber - 1/2 cup sliced ​​- 1 mg
13. Raw eggplant - 1 cup - 2 mg
14. Cooked Eggplant - 1 cup - 4 mg
15. Lettuce - 1 leaf - 2 mg
16. Fava beans - 1 cup - 5 mg
17. Raw or cooked mushrooms - half a cup - 1-2 mg
18. Chopped onion, crossed or minced - half a cup - 2-3 mg
19. Peas - 1 cup - 4 mg
20. Baked potato - 1 serving - 7 mg
21. Radishes - 10 - 11 mg
22. Raw spinach - half cup - 22 mg
23. Cooked spinach - half a cup - 22 mg
24. Pumpkin - half a cup - 4 mg
25. Sweet Potato - 1 serving - 12 mg
26. Tomato - 1 medium - 11 mg
27. Canned tomato juice - three-quarters cup - 660 mg

Fruits and fruit juices

1. Apple - 1 serving - 1 mg
2. Apple juice - 1 cup - 7 mg
3. Apricots - 3 mediums - 1 mg
4. Dried apricot - 10 halves - 3 mg
5. Banana - 1 median - 1 mg
6. Cantaloupe - half cup - 14 mg
7. Grapes - 1 cup - 2 mg
8. Grape juice - 1 cup - 7 mg
9. Grapefruit - medium - 0 mg
10. Orange - 1 medium - 2 mg
11. Orange juice - 1 cup - 2 mg
12. Peach - 1 serving - 0 mg
13. Prunes and dried prunes - 10 mg
14. Raisins - one third cup - 6 mg
15. Strawberries - 1 cup - 2 mg
16. Watermelon - 1 cup - 3 mg

Breads and cereals

1. Bran Flakes - three-quarters cup - 220 mg
2. Whole wheat bread - 1 slice - 159 mg
3. White bread - 1 slice - 123 mg
4. Hamburger bun - 1 serving - 241 mg
5. Cooked cereal - 1 serving - 250 mg
6. Corn flakes - 1 cup - 290 mg
7. English muffin - half cup - 290 mg
8. Crepe - one serving - 431 mg
9. White long grain rice - 1 cup - 4 mg
10. Shredded wheat - 1 cracker - 0 mg
11. Spaghetti - 1 cup - 7 mg
12. Waffle - 1 serving - 235 mg

Canned foods

1. Canned soup - 1 cup - 600 to 1,300 mg
2. Meals, prepared, canned or frozen - 8 oz - 500 to 2,570 mg

Equivalences between salt and sodium

Then we leave you the percentages of sodium equivalent to different amounts of salt. This is quite important when taking into account how much salt we can or are going to ingest in our diet.

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt = 600 mg of sodium

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt = 1200 mg of sodium

- 3/4 teaspoon of salt = 1800 mg of sodium

- 1 teaspoon of salt = 2300 mg of sodium

Low sodium diet example: Menus

We leave you with a couple of menus based on foods low in salt and, therefore, in sodium so that you can apply them to your daily life:

Menu 1

• BREAKFAST: Herbal infusion of your choice (preferably chamomile) with sweetener or alone with 1 glass of skim milk with cinnamon and 2 toasts of whole wheat bread without salt toasted with honey.
• MID-MORNING: 1 apple or seasonal fruit.
• LUNCH: 1 cup homemade vegetable broth with unsalted steamed vegetables with a drizzle of olive oil and basil or oregano and unsalted lean meat or herbed chicken breast with 2 slices of unsalted bread plus 1 pear.
• SNACK: 1 skimmed yogurt.
• SNACK: herbal infusion (mint, linden, piperine, green, red, etc…) with sweetener or alone and 1 slice of whole wheat bread without salt with a piece of skimmed unsalted cheese.
• DINNER: Homemade vegetable broth together with 100 grams of rice boiled without salt with oil (a small stream) and half grilled breast with bell garlic and garlic (without salt and with oregano) with 1 banana.

Menu 2

• BREAKFAST: Coffee with milk with a toast of bread with butter, unsalted margarine or extra virgin olive oil along with 1 slice of fresh cheese.
• MID-MORNING: Fruit.
• LUNCH: Macaroni with tomato and onion sauce. Grilled veal. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radish salad. Bread. Fruit.
• SNACK: 1 skimmed yogurt.
• DINNER: Vegetables with 1 potato with grilled hake. Serve with lettuce, a little bread and a piece of fruit.

Tips

-When we decide to cook any type of pasta or rice, we must forget to add the pinch of salt that is usually added.

-Cooking food with steam, iron, oven or roast reduces the amounts of salt in the food.

-In salads, vinegar works as an excellent flavor enhancer, thus avoiding having to sprinkle that handful of salt on our food.

-When cooking, we can substitute salt for different types of flavorings such as herbs, lemon, ground pepper or even natural or powdered garlic.

-Although it seems silly, pharmacy antacids and laxatives can also play a fundamental role when introducing salt into our body. That is why it is advisable to consult an expert on which ones have the lowest levels.

-If you look closely, when making the purchase find different foods marked under the label "low in sodium" or directly "without salt". Without a doubt, it is a sign that will improve knowing what to choose.