Foods high in Sodium
Mineral mostly consumed as salt (sodium chloride). Excess raises blood pressure in salt-sensitive people.
About Sodium
Sodium controls fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle function. The body needs only small amounts, under 500 mg/day for survival, but modern diets supply many times that, mostly from processed and restaurant foods rather than the salt added during cooking or at the table.
About 75% of sodium intake in UK diets comes from packaged foods: bread, processed meat, ready meals, sauces, and savoury snacks. Cooking from raw ingredients is the single most effective lever for cutting intake.
UK guidance: under 2.4 g of sodium per day (6 g of salt). High sodium intake raises blood pressure in salt-sensitive people (a large fraction of adults), increasing stroke and heart-disease risk.
Foods high in sodium, jellyfish, sauce, lemon, and more
Ranked by how much you get per calorie, so foods are not rewarded for simply being dry or concentrated. Values from USDA FoodData Central, McCance & Widdowson's CoFID, ANSES Ciqual, and other public nutrition databases. Amounts in milligrams.
Per calorie is the default here because it answers what to eat: ranked purely by amount, a list of the richest foods fills up with dried and concentrated things nobody eats a plateful of. Switch to per 100 grams above if concentration is what you are after. Our foods low in sodium list is measured per 100 grams instead, and that is deliberate too: per calorie would reward a food for carrying plenty of energy and none of the nutrient, which puts cooking oil below lettuce on a low-sodium list.
- Jellyfish, dried, salted 26,916.67mg per 100 grams
- Sauce, fish, ready-to-serve 22,431.43mg per 100 grams
- Lemon, preserved 18,802.64mg per 100 grams
- Sauce, fish, commercial 16,215.46mg per 100 grams
- Soup, beef broth, cubed, dry 14,117.65mg per 100 grams
- Soup, chicken broth cubes, dry 12,121.21mg per 100 grams
- Soy sauce made from hydrolyzed vegetable protein 11,366.67mg per 100 grams
- Sauce, soy, commercial 11,210.72mg per 100 grams
- Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu) 10,364.15mg per 100 grams
- Soy sauce 10,364.15mg per 100 grams
- Capers, canned 10,208.7mg per 100 grams
- Soy sauce made from soy (tamari) 9,310mg per 100 grams
Common questions about Sodium
- How much sodium should I have?
- UK guidance: under 2.4 g of sodium per day (6 g of salt). Most UK adults exceed this.
- Where does most of my sodium come from?
- About 75% from packaged foods, bread, processed meat, ready meals, sauces, savoury snacks. Salt added at the table or in cooking is a smaller share.
- Why should I limit sodium?
- High sodium raises blood pressure in salt-sensitive people, increasing stroke and heart-disease risk. Salt sensitivity varies widely between individuals.
- Is sea salt healthier than table salt?
- No. The sodium content is essentially the same. Sea salt contains trace minerals but the amounts are nutritionally insignificant.