The following foods are high in sodium and should be limited in the diet.

• Meat, Poultry, Fish and Other Meat Substitutes
• Dairy
• Main Dish Items
• Grains, Cereals, Soups and Snack Foods
• Vegetables
• Spices, Condiments and Sauces
• Food Additives

Meat, Poultry, Fish and Other Meat Substitutes

• Luncheon and cured meats including processed turkey/chicken, ham, bologna, salami, bacon, Canadian bacon, corned beef, pastrami, liverwurst, frankfurters, sausages, dried meat or dried fish.


• Canned foods including chicken, tuna and salmon, shellfish such as shrimp, crab, clams oysters, scallops and lobster.


• Soy protein products including marinated tofu or miso.

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Dairy

• Cheese, in particular processed cheeses including American and other processed cheese products, blue cheese, Roquefort parmesan cheese, feta cheese and cottage cheese.


• Milk-based drinks including buttermilk, Dutch process cocoa and instant cocoa mixes.

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Main Dish Items

• Commercially prepared main entrees including most frozen dinners or frozen main entrees, pot pies, canned main entrees such as hash, stew, chili, entrees with seasoning mixes such as macaroni and cheese.


• Most Asian foods including Chinese and Japanese foods made with teriyaki or soy sauce; and East Indian, Thai and Vietnamese unless prepared without added sauces containing salt or sodium products.


• Most Mexican foods including tacos, enchiladas, burritos and tamales.


• Pizza, lasagna, manicotti, ravioli, quiche, soufflés, blintzes and cheese rarebit.

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Grains, Cereals, Soups and Snack Foods

• Cereals and instant hot cereals, cold cereals containing 200 mg or more of sodium.


• Salted snack foods salted pretzels, salted crackers and chips, salted popcorn.


• Bake goods including cakes, cookies, pies, pastries, sweet rolls, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and muffins.


• Grains including rice or noodles with seasoning packets and sauces, such as Ramen noodles, rice pilaf, instant potatoes and stuffing mix.


• Soups including canned or packaged.

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Vegetables

• Canned including vegetables, vegetable juices, vegetables with seasoned sauces, pickled vegetables, olives, pickles and sauerkraut.


• Canned beans including kidney and garbanzo.


• Potatoes including au gratin, scalloped, packaged with sauces and seasoning mixes.

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Spices, Condiments and Sauces

• Spices and seasonings including salt, seasoning salts such as garlic, onion and celery salt, meat tenderizers, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and bouillon.


• Sauces including soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, barbecue sauce, smoke-flavored sauces, gravies, marinades, pasta sauces like marinara and alfredo, chili sauce, cocktail sauce, tomato puree and tomato sauce.


• Condiments and dressings including pickle relish, catsup, mayonnaise, commercial and packaged salad dressings.

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Food Additives

Sodium is often added to food in other forms besides salt such as the following:

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG): a flavor enhancer


• Baking soda and baking powder: found in many baked goods


• Disodium phosphate: found in quick-cooking cereals and processed cheeses


• Sodium alginate: used in many chocolate milks and ice creams


• Sodium benzoate: used as a preservative in many condiments such as relishes, sauces and salad dressings


• Sodium hydroxide: used in food processing for softening and loosening skins of olives and certain fruits and vegetables


• Sodium nitrite: used in curing meats and sausages


• Sodium propionate: used in some breads and cakes to inhibit mold growth and in pasteurized cheese


• Sodium sulfite: used to bleach certain fruits such as maraschino cherries and glazed or crystallized fruits to be artificially colored; as a preservative in some dried fruits such as prunes

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