A low-sodium diet means keeping total sodium under about 2,300 mg a day — or under 1,500 mg if you have high blood pressure. Roughly 70% of that sodium comes from packaged and restaurant food, not the salt shaker, so the fastest way to cut it is choosing better products at the grocery store.
That last point is the whole reason this hub exists. Most people who try to eat less salt start by taking the shaker off the table, then get discouraged when their blood pressure barely moves. The salt shaker is only about 5% of the problem. The bread, the deli meat, the jarred sauce, the canned soup, the frozen dinner, and the salad dressing are the rest of it.
So this page is organized the way you actually shop. Below you will find our tested picks and label-reading guides for each aisle, plus the numbers worth memorizing before you go.
How much sodium should you eat per day?
There are two numbers in circulation, and knowing which applies to you removes most of the confusion:
| Guideline | Daily sodium | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| General upper limit (Dietary Guidelines / FDA Daily Value) | 2,300 mg | Healthy adults |
| Ideal limit (American Heart Association) | 1,500 mg | Most adults, especially with high blood pressure |
| Typical American intake | ~3,400 mg | The gap you are closing |
Working backwards from 2,300 mg across three meals and a snack, a practical per-meal ceiling is about 600 mg, with snacks under 200 mg. That single number is easier to use in a grocery aisle than a daily total, because the label in your hand shows per-serving sodium, not your day.
What the label claims actually mean
Sodium claims on packaging are legally defined, which makes them genuinely useful once you know the thresholds:
- Low sodium — 140 mg or less per serving.
- Very low sodium — 35 mg or less per serving.
- Reduced sodium — at least 25% less than the regular version. Careful: 25% less than a very salty product is still a salty product.
- No salt added / unsalted — no salt added during processing, though the food may still contain naturally occurring sodium.
- Light in sodium — at least 50% less than the regular version.
The trap is “reduced sodium.” It is a comparison, not a standard. Always flip to the Nutrition Facts panel and read the actual milligrams, and check the serving size — a can of soup that looks like one serving is often two.
For a deeper walkthrough of the panel itself, see our guides to hidden sodium in “healthy” foods and how to read fiber on nutrition labels.
Frozen meals and convenience dinners
Frozen dinners are where most people’s sodium budget quietly disappears — a single tray can run 700 to 1,300 mg. They are also the easiest category to fix, because the good options are sitting in the same freezer case as the bad ones.
- Best low-sodium frozen meals for better heart health — what to look for, plus specific trays under 600 mg.
- Best frozen vegetables for heart health — the cheapest way to stretch any meal and dilute sodium per bite.
- Heart-healthy meal prep for busy weeks — the alternative when the freezer case disappoints.
Soups, canned goods, and the pantry
Canned food is not the enemy — canned sodium is. Beans, tomatoes, and vegetables are excellent heart food, and draining and rinsing canned beans removes a meaningful share of their sodium. Soup is the category that needs the most scrutiny, since a “healthy” broth-based can often carries more sodium than a frozen pizza slice.
- Low-sodium soup brands that support heart health
- How to choose low-sodium canned foods
- Low-sodium pantry reset — 30 simple swaps that still taste good
- Shelf-stable heart-healthy snacks worth stocking
Condiments, dressings, and sauces
These are small-volume, high-density sodium sources. Two tablespoons of a bottled dressing can carry 350 mg; a tablespoon of soy sauce can carry 900 mg. Because you use them in small amounts, swapping them is the highest-return, lowest-effort change on this entire page — nothing about your meals has to change except the bottle.
- Low-sodium salad dressings that support heart health
- Best low-sodium condiments for a heart-healthy kitchen
- Low-sodium sauces for busy, healthy weeknights
- Best salt-free seasonings for everyday cooking — how to keep food tasting like something.
Cheese, dairy, and breakfast
Cheese surprises people. It is a fermented, salted product by definition, and portions are small, so the milligrams add up faster than the calories do. Breakfast is the other blind spot: cereal and bread are rarely thought of as salty foods, yet they contribute steadily every single morning.
- Best low-sodium cheese for heart health at the grocery store
- Best breakfast cereals for better heart health
- Best yogurt for heart health
- Best unsweetened plant-based milks for heart health
Eating out and takeout
Restaurant food is the single largest sodium source for most people who eat out more than twice a week, and you cannot read a Nutrition Facts panel at a counter. The workaround is knowing which orders tend to land well before you get there.
- Low-sodium takeout orders for a heart-healthy diet
- Heart-healthy fast food orders that work
- Heart-healthy travel snacks that need no cooler
- Heart-healthy lunch ideas for work that travel well
Sodium, potassium, and blood pressure
Cutting sodium is only half of the blood-pressure equation. The ratio of sodium to potassium in your diet appears to matter as much as sodium alone, and most people fall short on potassium — which comes from the produce, beans, and dairy that a packaged-food-heavy diet crowds out. Adding potassium-rich foods is the constructive half of the same change.
- Sodium-to-potassium ratio for blood pressure — simple daily targets
- Potassium foods for blood pressure with a 7-day meal plan
- DASH diet meal plan for beginners
- The blood pressure plate — a repeatable lunch and dinner template
- How to take blood pressure at home the right way
A realistic way to start this week
You do not need to overhaul your kitchen. Sodium reduction works best as a sequence of swaps, because your taste for salt genuinely adapts over a few weeks — food that tastes flat in week one tastes normal by week four.
- Week 1 — bottles. Replace your salad dressing and two condiments. Nothing else changes.
- Week 2 — soup and canned goods. Switch to lower-sodium broth and no-salt-added beans and tomatoes. Rinse canned beans.
- Week 3 — the freezer. Set a 600 mg ceiling on frozen dinners and add a bag of plain frozen vegetables to every one.
- Week 4 — breakfast and bread. Compare the panels on your usual cereal and loaf; pick the lower option in each.
- Ongoing — add potassium. One extra serving of fruit, vegetables, or beans per day.
Four swaps of roughly 300 mg each add up to more than a thousand milligrams a day, which is the size of change that actually shows up on a blood pressure cuff.
Common questions about low-sodium eating
What is considered a low-sodium diet?
A low-sodium diet generally means eating less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, and under 1,500 mg per day if you have high blood pressure or have been told to restrict salt. On a food label, an individual product counts as “low sodium” only if it contains 140 mg or less per serving.
How much sodium is in a frozen dinner?
Most frozen dinners contain between 700 and 1,300 mg of sodium per tray, which is a third to more than half of a full day’s limit in one meal. Aim for trays under 600 mg, and add plain frozen vegetables to lower the sodium per bite while making the meal more filling.
Does rinsing canned beans reduce sodium?
Yes. Draining and rinsing canned beans under running water removes a substantial share of their sodium, since much of it sits in the packing liquid rather than the beans themselves. Choosing a no-salt-added can and rinsing it is better still.
How long does it take to lose your taste for salt?
Most people notice their preference shifting within two to four weeks of eating less sodium. Food that tasted bland at first begins to taste normal, and previously ordinary foods start to taste noticeably salty — which is the point at which lower-sodium choices stop requiring willpower.
Is sea salt lower in sodium than table salt?
No. Sea salt, kosher salt, and Himalayan pink salt contain essentially the same amount of sodium by weight as table salt. Coarser crystals mean less sodium fits in a teaspoon, but gram for gram they are equivalent, so switching salt types does not reduce your intake.
Keep reading
Sodium is one lever among several. If you are also working on cholesterol, start with our heart-healthy foods hub, or browse the full Low-Sodium Eating and Blood Pressure sections.
Living Healthy Advice publishes general educational information, not medical advice. If you have high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney disease, talk with your doctor or a registered dietitian before making significant changes to your sodium intake — some conditions and medications require a specific target.