Overview

Reading food labels

Most packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts table. This will tell you how much sodium is in one serving of food.

Here are some tips to help you.

• Look at both the serving size and the sodium amount.

  Food tables list the amount of sodium for each serving. The serving size is located at the top of the table, usually right under the "Nutrition Facts" title. The amount of sodium is given in the list under the title. It is given in milligrams (mg).

• Check the serving size carefully.

  If you eat more or less than the serving size, you have eaten more or less sodium than is listed for one serving. For example, maybe the table says that there are 400 mg of sodium in a 1-cup (250 mL) serving. If you eat two servings [2 cups (250 mL)], that is 800 mg of sodium.

• Look at the Percent Daily Value.

  The Nutrition Facts table also gives you the Percent Daily Value for sodium. This is how much of the recommended amount of sodium a serving contains. So if the Percent Daily Value says 50%, this means one serving is giving you half of the daily amount of sodium. Compare brands. Choose foods with a lower % Daily Value and smaller amounts of sodium.

• Know that sodium has different names.

  Other names for sodium include:

  • Monosodium glutamate, also called MSG.
  • Sodium citrate.
  • Sodium caseinate.
  • Sodium benzoate.
  • Disodium phosphate.
• Know what sodium terms mean.

  Labels on foods often claim that the food is "low-sodium" or something similar. Look for foods labelled "no salt added."

  • "Unsalted" means there is no sodium added to the food. But the food may still contain sodium naturally.
  • "Sodium-free" means a serving has less than 5 milligrams (mg) of sodium.
  • "Low sodium" means a serving has 140 mg or less of sodium.
  • "Reduced-sodium" does not mean that the food is low in sodium.
• Learn more about sodium and your diet.