High and Low Sodium Foods List

Sodium is an important part of our diet but it is something that can easily be consumed excessively which can lead to a number of health issues. This page covers the low sodium foods that can be consumed to regulate your sodium intake and also some of the high sodium foods that should be avoided or consumed only in moderation, these are highlighted in our high and low sodium foods lists. We have also provided an explanation as to what sodium is and the role that sodium plays in our diets.

What is sodium?

So what is sodium? Sodium is a chemical element and one of the essential minerals that our bodies need a regular amount of along with others such as calcium and magnesium. The difference between sodium and the other essential minerals is that many people take in too much of it as opposed to not enough. The most common source of sodium is table salt, otherwise known as sodium chloride (40% sodium and 60% chloride), however there are a variety of foods that also contain natural sodium and we will cover these on this page.

The role low sodium foods play in our diet

It is all too easy to consume more than the recommended daily amount of sodium due to the high salt content in many popular foods, on top of this there is always the temptation of putting extra salt on your food at the dinner table. In this section we explain how much sodium you should be eating each day and the benefits that sodium brings to the human body.

Our bodies only actually need around 250 milligrams of sodium each day but the bench mark that is set before sodium intake is deemed excessive is almost ten times that amount at some 2,400 milligrams a day. It is believed that the average person consumes in excess of 5,000 milligrams of sodium each day which is really not very good for them! To read more about the consequences of consuming too much sodium and many high sodium foods please see further down the page.

Benefits of sodium foods in the diet:

• Sodium is essential in body fluid function
• Sodium maintains the fluid distribution to muscles and tissue in the body
• Sodium helps to maintain the acid balance of the body

Why not high sodium foods?

We have covered what sodium is and why we need it but now it is time to tell you the reasons why too much sodium is bad for you and why you should be avoiding eating too much of the foods on our high sodium foods list.

The risks of consuming too much sodium, something achieved by eating too many high sodium foods are as follows:

Like anything, high sodium foods are fine in moderation but if you consume them excessively you may start to experience problems with your health than can lead to any of the things on the above list. Turning to low sodium foods to reduce your sodium intake is a great way to improve the situation or prevent it from happening altogether.

Low sodium foods list

Here we have a list of low sodium foods for you to try if you want to consciously make an effort to reduce or just regulate your sodium intake. These may not be the foods that are plastered across the television on advertising campaigns or on the main displays in the supermarkets so it may involve looking a little harder for them when you are out shopping, never the less the benefits they can bring to your health are very important. Having said that there are more and more people becoming more health-conscious and taking note of the calories and sodium levels that they consume so the amount of low sodium foods available may actually surprise you, you may think that you have never noticed them before but that is probably because you were not looking for low sodium foods in the past.

The list could go on all day really as there are currently low sodium foods as an alternative to all of the high sodium foods that we have mentioned. There is a big market for these foods due to the amount of people that find themselves with health issues due to excessive amounts of sodium.

High sodium foods list

In this section we will provide you with a high sodium foods list which is going to help you to recognise the foods that you should either be avoiding or consuming in moderation if you think that you are taking in more sodium in your diet than you should be:

You may be disappointed to read of many of the foods that we have on our high sodium foods list but sadly it is true and eating these excessively will be responsible for taking in more salt than your body needs. The first step to correcting your diet is to cut out the use of table salt as much as possible, if foods already have salt in them then is there really any need to add more? If the answer to this is 'yes' and you can't stand the taste of food without extra salt then why not try a sodium substitute instead with your high sodium foods?

More to our site than high and low sodium foods

It is not only necessary to regulate the amount of high and low sodium foods that you consume but also foods that contain all of the other vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Our site has lists of all of the foods that you need to get the right amounts of the vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, magnesium and iron, so please check these out. It really can be your first step towards a healthier diet and lifestyle.