Simple Swaps to Lessen Your Salt Intake

by Nate Widom

Sodium (or salt) plays a key role in enhancing the flavor and preservation of many of our favorite foods. It’s also critical for maintaining fluid balance as well as nerve and muscle function.¹ Salt is beneficial and necessary for our bodies, but the pendulum swings too far, with most Americans exceeding the general recommended guidelines.
Lowering your intake is no problem with a few easy tips and swaps. Registered Dietitian Ashley Boyer shares her advice for the kitchen, on the go, and beyond.

Intro to Sodium

The USDA guidelines recommend a daily intake of 2300mg of sodium for most healthy adults. “That’s equivalent to one teaspoon of salt,” Ashley explains. If you have high blood pressure, it’s best to cap yourself at 1500mg per day. Still, most Americans consume an average of over 3,300mg per day.
Short-term effects of excessive salt intake include bloating, upset stomach, and dehydration. Plus, salt frequently leads us to seek out more of it, just like sugar. “The more salt we get, the more we crave it,” Ashley explains. “Like it’s hard to have just one French fry – you want more and more.”
Over time, excessive amounts can raise your risk of high blood pressure, artery disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Those who already live with high blood pressure, kidney disease, and/or diabetes are more susceptible to the negative effects of consuming too much salt.¹
It makes sense why we get so much sodium. “High-salt foods are things we gravitate to because they give us more taste and flavor,” Ashley says. Many of the foods we think of as “craveable,” like fried, cheesy, and mass-manufactured foods, also tend to contain more salt. Plus, many Americans rely on convenience and love dining out! In fact, the American Heart Association reports that 70% of sodium comes from packaged, prepared, or restaurant food.²

Besides in restaurants and fast food, high amounts of sodium are commonly found in smoked and cured meats, ramen noodles, canned products, salted nuts, breads, frozen dinners, processed cheeses, pickled foods, dressings, chips, and fries.

Salt Swaps

To reduce sodium intake, small changes can make a big difference! And it doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor. Other flavorful kitchen ingredients will do the trick. Ashley’s suggested “salt swaps” include:

Vinegars

“There are so many vinegars,” Ashley begins. “There’s balsamic, there’s red wine. You have sherry and apple cider vinegar. You can do so much with them.”

Spices and Herbs

Don’t skip the spice rack! Swapping some of the salt with your favorite spices will flavor up your meals without guilt. Try options like black pepper, garlic, ginger, rosemary, basil, turmeric, cumin, and paprika.

Nutritional Yeast

“Nutritional yeast is great. I use it on vegetables,” Ashley says. Not only does it provide a somewhat cheesy, umami flavor, but it also contains protein and B vitamins.

Fruit Juices

A little fruit juice goes a long way. Fresh juice from oranges, lemons, limes, and pineapples will brighten the taste of whatever you’re cooking.

Healthy Toppings

Garnishing food with flavorful toppings is an easy way to avoid the saltshaker. Try adding interest to your salads with fresh fruit, peppers, or mushrooms. Hummus and caramelized onions are great for making wraps and sandwiches more flavorful, and a coating of unsalted nuts and seeds to the surface of your baked meats can give them a delicious crunch!

Salt-Free or Low-Sodium Seasonings

Yes, some store-bought spice blends can be heavy in salt. However, plenty of low-or no-sodium options are available. Just be sure to check labels. Ashley recommends the Mrs. Dash brand – it uses no sodium in its seasonings!

Salt Substitutes

Salt substitutes like Nu-Salt can be convenient options. They’re potassium-based, which “will help counterbalance the effects of sodium for blood pressure,” Ashley says.

More Tips to Lessen Sodium

Besides salt swaps, Ashley shares other ways to lessen your intake. These tips are especially important when dining out or buying prepared food, since that’s where most of us exceed the guidelines!

Ask for nutrition labels in restaurants: As of 2018, restaurant chains with 20 or more locations are required to provide nutrition information.³ Ask for this information at applicable restaurants and choose low-sodium options when you can. “I would say 300-400mg per serving is a lower amount,” Ashley explains. Of course, check the nutrition label in the grocery store, too.

As a good rule of thumb, aim to avoid foods with more milligrams of sodium per serving than calories per serving.

Order and cook smart: Even when you’re not dining at a chain, there are still ways to find better options. Ashley advises that fresh, unfried foods are usually best. Grilled, braised, roasted, baked, and sautéed foods will likely have less salt, since those methods naturally bring out flavor. Whether eating out or in the kitchen, it’s best to seek out food cooked in those ways.

The American Heart Association lists food descriptors that often indicate a higher sodium content. These include pickled, brined, barbecued, cured, smoked, broth, au jus, soy sauce, miso, and teriyaki.⁴

Look for reduced-sodium sauces: Like seasonings, some sauces are high in sodium, along with sugar and fat. If you like to buy pre-made, jarred sauces at the store, pay close attention to their sodium content. And if you like making sauces from scratch, consider using some of the salt swaps mentioned earlier. For example, Ashley loves homemade peanut sauce and suggests using milk or low-sodium coconut milk to improve texture during cooking.
Prioritize fresh, then frozen: Again, Ashley says the fresher the better. “I would get fresh whenever you can, and when you can’t get fresh, I would go for frozen,” she explains. “If you can’t go frozen, go canned – but look for no salt added.”
Be mindful of your meat selections: Sodium is frequently injected into meat as a preservative. So, using chicken as an example, Ashley suggests looking for labels that say 100% natural or organic. Ingredients should only say chicken – terms like “air-chilled,” “contains up to 50% solution,” “no added solutions,” and “no retained water” suggest sodium injection. Usually, local butchers are the best option for getting your meat as natural as possible.
Rinse canned foods: Ashley says you can easily rinse the salt from canned foods, which may reduce sodium levels by up to 40%.4 When she adds canned beans to something, “I first look for low sodium, but then I also put it in a colander and rinse it.”
Pair high-potassium foods: As discussed, potassium lowers the negative effects of salt for most of the population. So, Ashley suggests incorporating high-potassium foods into your diet. Good options include potatoes, oranges, mushrooms, beans, bananas, leafy greens, and broccoli.

Here are some of the sodium-related labels you may see on food packages and what they mean:²

Salt or sodium-free: Less than 5mg of sodium per serving
Very low sodium: 35mg or less per serving
Low sodium: 140mg or less per serving
Reduced sodium: At least 25% less sodium per serving than the regular product
Light in sodium or lightly salted: At least 50% less sodium than the regular product
No salt added or unsalted: No salt is added during processing, but they still may have some sodium

Conclusion

It’s important to be patient as you start lowering your sodium intake. Ashley explains that, like sugar, the amount of salt we prefer varies from person to person and can adjust over time.
“The more you have, the more you get used to that taste,” she explains. “Taste buds change. Especially as we age, we lose a lot of tastes and senses.” Thankfully, you have many easy choices and swaps to work with.

References:

This article has been reviewed by Ashley Boyer, RD, LDN. Ashley is a Registered Dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a national professional organization, and is licensed in nutrition with the State of Delaware.