Low-Salt Diet Food Selection Guide

Foods Allowed for a Healthy Low-Salt Diet

All Fresh Foods

• Fruits

• Vegetables, salad or cooked with little salt

• Protein-rich foods cooked with little table salt

Note: Maximum allowance is ½ teaspoon table salt per day

Foods NOT Allowed

Instant Foods

• Noodles, pasta, entrée, cereals

Table Salt

• Iodized salt, garlic salt, onion salt (unless computed)

Sauces

• Fish sauce (patis), Soy sauce (toyo)

• Small fish, salted and fermented (bagoong na isda), small shrimp (alamang) sauce

• Barbecue sauce, catsup, oyster sauce

Processed, Salted, Smoked, Canned Foods

• Big dried salted fish usually cut in half (daing), small dried salted fish (tuyo), anchovy (dilis), smoked fish (tinapa)

• Sausage (longanisa), tocino, bacon, ham, luncheon meats (processed and cured meats)

• Salted eggs

• Canned soups, packed soups

• Commercially-frozen lima beans, peas, hominy (binatog)

• Pickles

• Pickled papaya (atsara)

• Cheese

• Sauerkraut

Leavening Sodium

• Baking soda, baking powder

Seasoning

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

• Seasoning flavors like beef, chicken, shrimp, pork 

• Bouillon cubes 

• Liquid seasoning

Commercial Chips, Crackers, Salted Seeds and Nuts

Note: For more Tips on a Healthy Low-Salt Diet See Low-Salt Diet

Reference: Healing Wonders of Diet Effective Guide to Diet Therapy p.133 © 2003 Philippine Publishing House ISBN 971-581-013-6

Low-Salt Diet

Some foods naturally contain sodium. A low-salt diet allows the use of such foods plus not more than 1 teaspoon of salt in food preparation per day. A low-salt diet also refers to low-sodium diet, sodium-restricted diet, 2 g sodium-content diet, or 2000 mg sodium-content diet.

Sodium is concentrated in table salt (sodium chloride), monosodium glutamate (MSG), preservatives (sodium sulfate, sodium benzoate), baking soda and baking powder (sodium bicarbonate). These items are not included in the 2000 mg sodium allowance.

 

Some Tips for a Low-Salt Diet

• Limit the use of hidden sodium such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), preservatives, baking soda and baking powder, meat tenderizer.

• Enjoy the natural flavor of unsalted foods.

• Avoid sauce and table salt. Food seasoned with little salt is better than unseasoned food served with separate sauce.

• Eat fresh, natural food instead of processed (canned, smoked, cured) ones.

• Avoid salted fish.

• Have fresh fruits instead of baked products for dessert.

• Eat plain rice rather than buns, fried seasoned rice, instant rice, instant noodles and other instant cereals.

• Avoid commercial chips and crackers. They are high in salt.

• Minimize dining out. Regular commercial menus have more seasonings which are high in sodium.

• Read labels. Sodium can be found in food, water, medicines, toothpastes, and mouthwashes.

• Reduce sodium in diet, gradually.

• Eat more fresh fruits instead of rich desserts.

• Avoid tea, coffee, alcoholic and carbonated beverages (soft drinks).

• Drink at least 6 to 8 of water a day between meals. See The Importance of Water.

• Include a variety of foods each meal.

• Take time to enjoy your food.

This dietary management is good for Atherosclerosis, Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack), Glomerulonephritis, Kidney Stone Formation, Renal Failure.

Reference: Healing Wonders of Diet Effective Guide to Diet Therapy p.130 © 2003 Philippine Publishing House ISBN 971-581-013-6