You already know snack foods like salted peanuts, chips and crackers pack a lot of salt. But even if you don't eat these salted snacks, you may be on a high-sodium diet without realising it.
The snacks taste salty because the salt is on the food’s surface, leading many people to believe that they are high sodium foods. They seem that way because the salt hits your taste receptors right away.
But plenty of very high sodium foods don't taste salty at all. Why? Sodium in food is often hidden by other flavours, especially sweet. If you are trying to reduce your salt intake and don’t know where to start - below we have a few ideas for you.
Here’s what to cut back on (and what to swap in instead) if you’re looking to consume less salt.
Table salt
Table salt is an obvious place to start when it comes to reducing sodium. Instead of grabbing the shaker, flavour meals – both during cooking and at the table – with spices like cayenne, paprika, cumin, or black pepper. Herbs like oregano and sage also blend beautifully into many meals, and produce-based flavours like garlic, onion powder and lemon can provide a nice hit of flavour without upping the sodium.
Canned vegetables
Buying canned vegetables instead of fresh could be an effective way to cut costs at the grocery store. But you might be adding more sodium to your diet in the process. There are no-salt-added or low sodium cans, so you might consider looking for those. But buying frozen vegetables is also a safe bet - those are just as healthy as fresh.
Soup
A bowl of hot soup makes a filling, healthy lunch. What is shocking is just how much salt most soups contain, especially the canned soups on supermarket shelves. If you are trying to reduce your salt intake but you love soup, choose the lower sodium varieties or make home-made soups.
Seafood
Some seafood is saturated with sodium. Seafood is a great addition to a heart-healthy diet. When prepared in a healthy way, seafood may help lower cholesterol which in turn helps improve heart health. But you need to choose your seafood wisely since options like shellfish and canned tuna fish are high in salt.
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is low in fat and high in protein. But you might be surprised to learn that it has more sodium than you think. If you want the protein but not the salt, you can swap cottage cheese for Greek yoghurt as a snack. Both will give you lots of protein and calcium.