🧂 Foods Highest in Sodium — TOP 30(per 100g)
Regulates fluid balance and nerve signals. High intake is linked to high blood pressure. FDA Daily Value: 2300mg.
1–30 of 7,828 foods
What Sodium Does
Sodium regulates fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. The body needs it — but US intake averages well above requirements, and excess is firmly linked to elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
Table salt tops the ranking at 38,758mg per 100g, followed by baking soda at 27,360mg. These are the sodium sources rather than sodium-containing foods, and neither is consumed by weight.
The practically important entries are further down: cured meats, cheese, canned soups, sauces, bread, and prepared foods. Roughly 70% of US sodium intake comes from packaged and restaurant food rather than the salt shaker.
Daily intake reference (FDA Daily Value)
FDA Daily Value: 2,300mg per day — about one teaspoon of salt. Many guidelines suggest 1,500mg for people with hypertension or elevated risk. Average US intake is closer to 3,400mg.
Getting Enough Sodium
The shaker is not the problem
Only a small fraction of sodium intake is added at the table. Bread, deli meat, cheese, sauces, canned goods, and restaurant meals account for the great majority of it.
Raise potassium as well as cutting sodium
The ratio between the two matters. Adding vegetables, fruit, beans, and yogurt shifts the balance favorably even when sodium is unchanged.
Rinse canned foods
Draining and rinsing canned beans and vegetables removes a meaningful share of added sodium, at essentially no cost to convenience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How much salt is 2,300mg of sodium?
A. About one teaspoon of table salt. Salt is roughly 40% sodium by weight, so 6g of salt contains approximately 2,300mg of sodium — the two numbers are often confused on labels.
Q. Where does most dietary sodium come from?
A. Packaged and restaurant foods, at roughly 70% of intake. Bread and rolls, cured meats, pizza, soups, sandwiches, and cheese are the largest categories in US survey data.
Q. Does everyone need to cut sodium?
A. Blood pressure response to sodium varies between individuals, but population-level intake sits well above requirements, and reduction benefits those with hypertension most clearly. Very low intakes are not a goal for healthy people either.
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Data source: USDA FoodData Central (Public Domain) — fdc.nal.usda.gov