Swaps That Cut Sodium in Half

A comparison of high-sodium staples and their lower-sodium replacements, with the milligrams saved per serving.

The most reliable way to move toward the WHO recommendation of less than 2000 mg of sodium per day is to replace the saltiest items in your regular rotation rather than to police the salt shaker.

In typical industrialised diets the majority of sodium comes from processed and restaurant food, so the swap table targets exactly that category: cured and deli meats, canned soups, salty condiments, restaurant takeout, and heavily seasoned ready meals.

Each swap is expressed in milligrams saved per serving, so you can add them up against the 2000 mg budget. A handful of consistent substitutions across breakfast, lunch and dinner can remove several hundred milligrams from a single day.

Potassium-rich foods help counter sodium's effect on blood pressure, which is why several swaps on the table move toward fresh vegetables, legumes and fruit rather than merely toward a lower-sodium version of the same processed item.

The WHO global target is a 30 percent reduction in mean population salt intake. Applied at the individual level, that is the scale of change these swaps deliver: fewer milligrams per serving, repeated every day, across the foods you buy most often.

• Swap at the point of purchase: choose the lower-sodium version before the food enters your kitchen.
• Swap at the plate: add a potassium-rich side to displace part of a salty main.
• Swap at the restaurant: one lower-sodium choice per meal compounds across the week.

Further reading

• The 2000 mg Limit in Real Food
• Read a Label in 30 Seconds