What foods are putting the most salt in our diets?
Top Sodium Food Sources in the American Diet—Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Vegetables are the 14th highest sodium contributor, contributing 2.2% of total intake.
People assume vegetables are naturally low-sodium, but this includes canned, frozen, or pre-seasoned veggies—and even restaurant salads with salty dressings or croutons.
Practical Takeaways
Swap one top-sodium item per week: choose low-sodium bread, skip the sauce on pizza, or make homemade burritos with fresh ingredients.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Vegetables are the 14th highest sodium contributor, contributing 2.2% of total intake.
People assume vegetables are naturally low-sodium, but this includes canned, frozen, or pre-seasoned veggies—and even restaurant salads with salty dressings or croutons.
Practical Takeaways
Swap one top-sodium item per week: choose low-sodium bread, skip the sauce on pizza, or make homemade burritos with fresh ingredients.
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2023
Authors
Mavra Ahmed, A. Ng, Anthea K. Christoforou, C. Mulligan, M. L’Abbé
Related Content
Claims (4)
People of different races, ethnicities, and income levels all get most of their salt from the same top 15 foods, so one simple rule to cut salt can work for everyone without needing different recipes for different groups.
Just 15 types of foods are responsible for more than half the salt Americans eat, and this is true no matter how old you are, what gender or race you are, or how much money you make — so cutting salt from these foods could help everyone.
Bread and veggies make up most of the salt we eat because we eat so much of them, but cold cuts and soup have way more salt in each bite — so to cut down on salt, we need to fix both how much we eat and how salty the food is.
In the U.S., five common foods—pizza, bread, deli meats, soup, and tacos/burritos—add up to more than one-fifth of all the salt people eat, and each one alone adds about 4-5% of that salt. That’s why health experts think cutting salt in these foods could help everyone eat less sodium.