How do I lower sodium in my cooking?
The fastest way to cut sodium is to cook more at home with fresh ingredients and season with herbs, garlic, citrus, and spices instead of salt and salty sauces. Most sodium in a typical diet comes from packaged and restaurant food, not the salt shaker on your own table.
Where sodium actually hides
Bread, canned soups, deli meat, sauces, and restaurant meals often carry more sodium than people expect, even when they do not taste especially salty. Cooking from scratch strips most of that out automatically.
Easy swaps
- Rinse canned beans and vegetables, or buy no-salt-added versions.
- Build flavor with garlic, onion, citrus, and dried herbs before reaching for salt.
- Choose fresh or frozen vegetables over canned when you can.
- Check labels. Two similar products can differ by hundreds of milligrams per serving.
A note on health
This is general information, not medical advice. The DASH pattern, often recommended for blood pressure, generally aims for lower sodium alongside more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Helthee can plan a week of dinners that stay inside a sodium limit you set.
An app that does this for you
Helthee turns this into a week of dinners and one sorted shopping list, built to your budget. Join the early access list.