101 Foods with No Sodium (Salt)

As you can see from the list below, many foods have zero or very low sodium in their natural forms. Sodium is abundant mainly in processed and canned foods. I also listed how much cholesterol, sugar and saturated fat each food contains.

FOOD NAME	Calories (kcal)	Sodium (mg)	Cholesterol (mg)	Saturated Fat (g)	Sugar (g)	Potassium (mg)
CEREAL: KELLOGGS SHREDDED WHEAT MINIATURES	339	0	0	0.40	2	452
CEREAL: KASHI ORGANIC PROMISE AUTUMN WHEAT	353	0	0	0.20	13.4	334
CEREAL: CORN GRITS,WHITE,REG & QUICK	370	1	0	0.34	0.57	141
CEREAL: CREAM OF RICE	52	1	0	0.03	0.02	20
CEREAL: ROMAN MEAL	61	1	0	0.05		125
CEREAL: KELLOGG'S, FROSTED MINI-WHITES ,MAPLE & BROWN SUGAR	356	1	0	0.30	24	338
CEREAL: CORN GRITS,WHITE,REG & QUICK,ENR	71	2	0	0.07	0.12	27
CEREAL: RALSTON	53	2	0	0.05		61
CEREAL: WHEATENA	56	2	0	0.08		77
CEREAL: QUAKER,FARINA,CREAMY WHEAT	349	2	0	0.24	0.3	98
CEREAL: QUAKER,HOMINY GRITS,WHITE	347	2	0	0.26	1	146
CEREAL: GENERAL MILLS,FIBER ONE,SHREDDED WHEAT	321	2	0	0.30	20.3	305
JAMS & PRESERVES: DIETETIC (WITH NA SACCHARIN),ANY FLAVOR	132	0	0	0.02	37.81	69
CRACKERS: MATZO,PLAIN	395	0	0	0.23	0.29	112
CRACKERS,MATZO,WHOLE-WHEAT	351	2	0	0.24		316
SALAD DRESSING: HOME RECIPE,VINEGAR&OIL	449	1	0	9.10	2.5	8
BEANS: BLACK TURTLE SOUP,MATURE SEEDS	130	3	0	0.09	0.32	433
BEANS: BLACK,MATURE SEEDS	132	1	0	0.14		355
BEANS: CRANBERRY (ROMAN),MATURE SEEDS	136	1	0	0.12		387
BEANS: KIDNEY,ALL TYPES,MATURE SEEDS	127	1	0	0.07	0.32	405
BEANS: PINTO,MATURE SEEDS	143	1	0	0.14	0.34	436
BEANS: SNAP	35	1	0	0.06	1.55	146
BEANS: NAVY,MATURE SEEDS	140	0		0.10	0.37	389
BEANS: GREAT NORTHERN	118	2	0	0.14		391
OATS	389	2	0	1.22		429
RYE	338	2	0	0.20	0.98	510
RYE FLOUR,MEDIUM	349	2	0	0.18	1.1	374
WHEAT FLOUR,WHOLE-GRAIN	340	2	0	0.43	0.41	363
RICE: WHITE	130	0	0	0.06		29
RICE FLOUR: WHITE	366	0	0	0.39	0.12	76
WILD RICE	101	3	0	0.05	0.73	101
POPCORN,HOME-PREPARED,OIL-POPPED,UNSALTED	500	3	0	5.05	0.54	225
POTATOES IN SKIN	87	4	0	0.03	0.87	379
MCDONALD S: APPLE DIPPERS	48	0			9.2
CORN,SWEET,YELLOW	96	1	0	0.20	4.54	218
EGGPLANT	35	1	0	0.04	3.2	123
PEANUTS,VALENCIA	570	1	0	7.33		332
SOYBEANS: MATURE	173	1	0	1.30	3	515
CORN FLOUR,DEGERMED	375	1	0	0.17	0.64	90
OAT BRAN	40	1	0	0.16		92
RICE,BROWN,MEDIUM-GRAIN	112	1	0	0.17		79
SEMOLINA	360	1	0	0.15		186
MACARONI	158	1	0	0.18	0.56	44
SPAGHETTI	158	1	0	0.18	0.56	44
APPLES WITHOUT SKIN	48	0	0	0.02	10.1	90
CHERRIES	63	0	0	0.04	12.82	222
GRAPEFRUIT	32	0	0	0.01	6.98	139
NECTARINES	44	0	0	0.03	7.89	201
ORANGES	47	0	0	0.02	9.35	181
PEACHES	39	0	0	0.02	8.39	190
PLUMS	46	0	0	0.02	9.92	157
PEARS	42	0	0	0.01	7.05	121
HAZELNUTS	628	0	0	4.46	4.34	680
PECANS	691	0	0	6.18	3.97	410
APPLES WITH SKIN	52	1	0	0.03	10.39	107
APRICOTS	48	1	0	0.03	9.24	259
BANANAS	89	1	0	0.11	12.23	358
BLACKBERRIES	43	1	0	0.01	4.88	162
BLUEBERRIES	57	1	0	0.03	9.96	77
FIGS	74	1	0	0.06	16.26	232
GRAPES,MUSCADINE	57	1				203
LEMON JUICE	22	1	0	0.04	2.52	103
MANGOS	60	1	0	0.09	13.66	168
TANGERINE JUICE	43	1	0	0.02	9.9	178
PINEAPPLE	50	1	0	0.01	9.85	109
RASPBERRIES	52	1	0	0.02	4.42	151
STRAWBERRIES	32	1	0	0.02	4.89	153
WATERMELON	30	1	0	0.02	6.2	112
DATES,MEDJOOL	277	1			66.47	696
PUMPKIN	26	1	0	0.05	1.36	340
PEPPERS,HUNGARIAN	29	1	0	0.05		202
MUSHROOMS,MAITAKE	31	1	0	0.03	2.07	204
FIDDLEHEAD FERNS	34	1	0			370
ALMONDS	575	1	0	3.73	3.89	705
PECANS,DRY ROASTED	710	1	0	6.28	4.06	424
PISTACHIO NUTS	562	1	0	5.56	7.66	1025
SESAME BUTTER,TAHINI	607	1	0	7.90		459
AVOCADOS	120	2	0	1.96	2.42	351
CARAMBOLA,(STARFRUIT)	31	2	0	0.02	3.98	133
CRANBERRIES	46	2	0	0.01	4.04	85
LEMONS	29	2	0	0.04	2.5	138
LIMES	30	2	0	0.02	1.69	102
PLANTAINS	309	2		3.69	3.63	482
ASPARAGUS	20	2	0	0.04	1.88	202
CUCUMBER	15	2	0	0.04	1.67	147
EGGPLANT	24	2	0	0.03	2.35	230
PEPPERS,SWEET	28	2	0	0.03	3.19	166
NUTS,PINE NUTS,DRIED	673	2	0	4.90	3.59	597
WALNUTS,BLACK,DRIED	618	2	0	3.37	1.1	523
LENTILS,MATURE SEEDS	116	2	0	0.05	1.8	369
SOYBEANS: MATURE SEEDS	446	2	0	2.88	7.33	1797
TOFU,HARD,PREP W/NIGARI	146	2	0	1.45		146
KIWIFRUIT	60	3		0.15	10.98	316
NANCE,FRZ,UNSWTND	73	3			8.31	244
OKRA,FROZEN	30	3	0	0.07	2.97	211
ONIONS	44	3	0	0.03	4.73	166
PEAS	84	3	0	0.04	5.93	271
PEPPERS,JALAPENO	29	3	0	0.09	4.12	248
SUNFLOWER SUN DRIED KERNELS	582	3	0	5.22	2.73	850
ALMONDS,DRY ROASTED	595	3	0	4.03	4.93	712

Online sources for low sodium dieters

If you surf the net to find information on low sodium diet, recipes, etc or to shop for low sodium foods, you will see many sites with very basic, trivial information or with very limited spectrum of foods. Therefore I wanted to write here the names of a few sites that I personally benefited from one way or another. Clicking on the site names below will take you to the corresponding site.


Diet information sites: (lists of foods, meals, recipes, tips, etc...)
Eat Low Sodium

Low Salt Foods

Recipes by Mayo Clinic


Online grocers:
(Note: Before you buy foods, always check the sodium content in their nutrition charts)
Amazon Grocery

Healthy Heart Market

Low Salt Market

Salt Watcher

Heart Wise Foods, Inc.

Frontier Soups and Pasta Dishes



Blogs (diet tips, recipes, cooking techniques, etc...):
Eat Low Sodium Blog (you are currently reading it!)

Do Not Pass The Salt Blog


If you know other sites that would help people that are on low sodium diets, please add them in the comments section of this writing.

Thank you!

Umit

Low Sodium Chips

Here is a list of low or no sodium chips (mostly potato). They can be great for major get-togethers like Super Bowl parties. Enjoy them in moderation!

Salt free potato chips by Dirty Chips: Sodium per serving: 0mg (0%) (contains no MSG, no cholesterol)
Crispy cinnamon apple chips by Good Health: Sodium per serving: 15mg (1%)

No salt added sweet potato chips by Terra: Sodium per serving: 15mg (1%)

Vegetable chips by Terra: Sodium per serving: 50mg (2%)

Potato chips with dried tomatoes by Terra: Sodium per serving: 85mg (3%)

Natural tostitos chips with Yellow Corn by Frito-Lay: Sodium per serving: 100mg (4%), no cholesterol, no trans fat.

Lay's lightly salted potato chips (50% less sodium than Lay's classic potato chips): Sodium per serving: 90mg (4%)

For more detailed information on most of the chips described above, please visit:
http://eatlowsodium.com/osc/crackers-cookies-snacks-chips-c-3_47.html

Tips for stocking your kitchen

Here are some tips to help you make healthy cooking quick and full of flavor:

Stock your kitchen with herbs and spices, fresh lemons and limes, onions and garlic, flavored vinegars, reduced-sodium broth and soy sauce, evaporated skim milk, and butter-flavored powders.

Use nonstick skillets and pots, and cook vegetables in a steamer.

Invest in a cheese grater. Replace high-fat cheeses like cheddar, American, and Swiss with grated part-skim mozzarella or other low-fat cheese.

Use a blender to puree vegetables and beans for soups and fruits for smoothies.

Sharpen your knives often so you can cut vegetables quickly and thinly slice meat.

Cook favorite, low-fat recipes in batches and freeze, extra portions to have ready when you are in a hurry. Or take leftovers for lunch the next day.

Reference: Healthy cooking brochure by Krames with contributions by Ann Del Tredici (MS, RD) and Sally Mackey (MS, RD)

Healthy meal and snack ideas

Rather than skipping meals or grabbing something that is fast (and probably full of salt and fat), try these quick, healthy meal and snack ideas:

Breakfast

Toasted bagel or English muffin with jam

Hot oatmeal or corn flakes with nonfat milk

Fresh fruit or juice

Nonfat yogurt or nonfat milk

Lunch

Turkey or ham on whole-grain bread with mustard

Pasta and vegetable salad with light or fat-free, salt-free dressing

Rice and black bean burrito (no cheese)

Iced tea or mineral water

Dinner

Meatless chili or spaghetti with tomato sauce

Roast chicken breast without the skin

Steamed vegetables or a salad with fat-free, salt-free dressing

Angel food cake

Snacks

Plain, air-popped popcorn

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Low-salt pretzels

Frozen juice bars

Flavored sugar-free gelatin

Fat-free crackers or cookies

Important note: Always check nutrition charts of the recommended snacks above before purchasing them, and make sure they have low sodium (approx. 200mg of sodium or less per serving).

Reference: Healthy cooking brochure by Krames with contributions by Ann Del Tredici (MS, RD) and Sally Mackey (MS, RD)

Cooking heart healthy meals

Here are a few cooking methods to add flavor without adding fat and salt:

Chill soups and stews and then skim off the fat before reheating and serving.

Wrap foods in foil instead of using fat to keep in moisture and flavor.

Use vegetable cooking sprays to keep foods from sticking without adding fat.

Pour natural cooking juices over meat and poultry in place of gravy or cream sauce.

Marinate for flavor. Try ginger, lemon juice, wine or salsa. If you are using teriyaki or soy sauce, make sure it is low sodium and does not contain any MSG.

Use two egg whites instead of one whole egg.

Use butter-flavored powders on potatoes and noodles.

Although it is well known, let me mention that always broil, grill, or bake poultry, fish, and meat instead of frying.

Stroke warning signs

A stroke is simply an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. It is very important to get to the hospital quickly if you are having a stroke, but to do so, you have to realize the warning signs of stroke first.

The signs are:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden, severe headache with unknown cause

If you experience one or more of these signs, call 9-1-1 or emergency services so an ambulance can be sent for you. If given within 3 hours of the start of the symptoms, a clot-busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.

Stroke can happen due to long-term hypertension, which can be reduced by following a low sodium, low fat diet.

Reference: An American Heart Association pamplet on high blood pressure

Tips to follow a healthy diet while dining out

Before giving you the tips, I would like to mention that you will see a lot of statements below such as “avoid this, don’t eat that, or do not order if”. Unless you have to be on a very strict diet, please don’t take these prohibitive suggestions too seriously. Just follow the ones which you think would help you the most. This way following a diet does not feel like burden to you.

Now, the tips…

Before Visiting Restaurants

Call or, even easier, check the website of a restaurant to make sure there are foods that are good for your diet in their menu. Pick the best two meals for your diet in the menu (in case they do not have the one item, you have a back-up plan!)

And once you get to the restaurant…

Ordering Beverages

Ask for water, unsweetened tea, club soda, fresh fruit juice, tea or coffee (in moderation). Avoid tomato juice, unless it's low in sodium. Avoid coke, soda as they have a lot of sugar. (Please note that tea and coffee may not be good for you if you have Meniere’s disease.)

If you must order an alcoholic drink, forget the margaritas, piña coladas, and other exotic mixed drinks. They include sugary additions. Opt instead for a glass of wine, a light beer, vodka and tonic or a simple martini (without the chocolate liquor, sour green apple schnapps, or triple sec).

Ordering Soups

If you are following a low sodium diet, avoid ordering soups in restaurants as there is a very high chance that they are high in sodium.

Ordering Salads

When we are hungry, we tend to order more, it is a good idea to start your meal with a salad to help control hunger and feel satisfied sooner. However, salads can be healthy only IF you are careful about their ingredients. For instance, you should avoid salty salad toppings like bacon bits.

Get your salad dressing on the side. To use minimal amount of dressing without sacrificing the taste, dip your empty fork into the dressing, then skewer a forkful of salad. You’ll be surprised at how this tastes just right, and how little dressing you’ll use. Plus, your lettuce won’t wilt and drown in a sea of oil.

Ordering Appetizers and Entrees

If you go to a restaurant notoriously serving big portions like Cheese Cake Factory, order appetizer or side dishes instead of an entrée.

Ask your server if the kitchen can alter preparations to meet your needs such as not adding salt to your meal or excluding some high sodium ingredients from your meal. You can also request that visible fat be trimmed from meat and skin be removed from poultry before cooking.

Thou shall not add butter or salt to your food!

Choose fish when you can rather than meats, but make sure your fish is not fried or sautéed.

Order foods without creamy sauces or gravies.

Order steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed.

Ask that your food be prepared with olive oil, rather than butter or fat.

Use salsa instead of butter or sour cream as potato topper.

If you are on a strict low sodium diet, avoid Teriyaki sauces or any sauce served for sushis and sashimis in Asian restaurants, even the ones tagged "low sodium" as they most likely contain MSG. If a sauce tastes salty to you but there is no or low quantity of sodium mentioned in its nutrition chart, it probably has high amount of MSG or any other salt substitute. Your taste buds don't lie!

Ordering Desserts

Wait until few minutes after you finish eating your meal to order dessert. By then you might already feel full as it takes time for “full signals” to be received and processed by the brain. If you are feeling very full, skip dessert.

Choose fruits for dessert or fruit-based desserts more often. Take the cream off. Even if they aren't on the dessert menu, many restaurants can offer you fruit or sherbet instead of high-fat pastries and ice creams.

To limit your food intake

When we have more options, we tend to order more, so order an item from the menu instead heading for the “all-you-can-eat” buffet.

When your food is delivered, if it turns out to be more than you expected, set aside or pack half of it to go immediately. You can also share it with a friend.

Ask for the lunch size, even if you're eating dinner.

If given the choice, choose a small or medium portion. In the U.S. meal portions are big anyways.

On your commutes or trips, always carry fresh fruits like banana or apple in your bag. This will help you feel less hungry when you arrive at a restaurant. In fact, you can do this when you are not a trip as well.

In between your meals, drink plenty of water!

References:

Tips on eating out, My Pyramid web site

Eat smart when dining out, Reader’s Digest

Dash diet tips, Mayo Clinic web site

How do you know if you are having a heart attack?

About 1.1 million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, about half of which is fatal. Learning the signs of heart attack and what to do during it can save your life.

The first thing to do when you or someone around you experience the warning signs of a heart attack is to call 9-1-1 fast. Simple as that.

What are the warning signs?
Every person's signs can be different but usually there is:
1) Chest discomfort: Usually happens in the center of the chest and lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
2) Discomfort in arm(s), back, neck, jaw or stomach
3) Shortness of breath: Often accompanies chest discomfort, but may occur before it as well.
4) Cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness

Most heart attacks are not sudden, they start slowly with only mild discomfort or pain. Therefore, it might not be clear if you are having an attack at the beginning. Don't wait longer than 5 minutes and call 9-1-1 as treatments to restore blood flow to the heart are most effective if given within 1 hour of the start of the symptoms.

And the best prevention for coronary heart disease is to eat low cholesterol foods and reduce blood pressure (if hypertension is a factor) by exercising and following a low sodium diet!

Reference: Hypertension Sourcebook, First Edition edited by Dawn Matthews and Karen Bellenir

My new diet partner: Facebook!

As followers of this blog know, we recently started a Facebook page for EatLowSodium. Since then things started taking different shapes in my mind. Low sodium dieters from California to Istanbul, Turkey began ‘liking’ our page and asking dietary questions, sharing their experiences.

Then a few days ago, a Sun-Sentinel front page article about a local man, Rob Graulau, having already lost 45 pounds and targeting 300, prompted me to do a slightly different sort of research. Mr. Graulau had a Facebook account like millions of others. However, his wall was full of messages supporting his effort to loose weight. “Go man, you can do it!”, “We are proud of Rob, you are an example to many”.

I wondered the days when people were kind of outcast since they were obese or sick and following a strict diet nobody else around them did. The challenge of changing dietary habits were dwarfed by psychological effects of what others, especially loved ones, said and how they behaved about your struggle. The worst reaction was indifference!

However, now we have a truly different world I thought. Rob had hundreds of friends and making new ones faster after this article. He has people who support him and more importantly desire to be on the same boat with him. What a change!

This change was possible, thanks to social networking sites like Facebook. Our new diet partner! Through our Facebook page, people not only find immediate answers to their questions but also let some steam off when they get frustrated about following a low sodium diet. They also see that some other people struggle too, that they are not the only ones who want or need to eat better.

As we move toward having our 100^th fan within less than a month only through word of mouth, I am so glad that we opened this page. It gave me the please of sharing some information that others can benefit from. Hopefully you share with us what you know too.

Thank you,

Umit

http://facebook.com/EatLowSodium