Health seekers

Reduce salt

Couple cooking with salt

There's a place for salt in a healthy eating plan, but most of us consume two or even three times the recommended amount, often without even realizing it. We do, however, need small amounts of salt for healthy functioning, such as maintaining a proper fluid balance in the body.

The blood pressure connection

About one-third of people are sensitive to the sodium component of salt. This means that eating foods with too much salt can increase the amount of blood in the arteries, raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

If you can lower your intake little by little each day, you can reduce blood pressure. Because our diets are generally so high in salt, everybody – even those with normal blood pressure – can benefit from reducing salt intake.

Foods with high salt content

About 80% of the salt we consume comes from processed foods, including:

  • fast foods
  • prepared meals
  • processed meats (like hot dogs and lunch meats)
  • canned soups
  • bottled dressings
  • packaged sauces
  • condiments (like ketchup and pickles)
  • salty snacks (like potato chips and crackers).
Steps you can take to lower salt intake

Make meals at home so that you can control the amount of salt you add to your food.

When you’re grocery shopping, check the Nutrition Facts table on food products for sodium or salt. 

Choose products that have a lower percentage daily value for sodium. Look for food products that are lower in sodium per serving. For example:

  • Packaged food products should have less than 15% of your recommended daily value. 
  • An entrée should have less than 30% of your recommended daily value. 

Canada’s Dietary Guidelines recommends selecting nutritious foods with little or no added sodium.

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, please speak to your doctor about the amount of sodium you should be consuming on a daily basis.

To help reduce added, unnecessary salt:

  • Cut down on prepared and processed foods.
  • Look for products with claims such as low sodium, sodium reduced or no salt added. If the product claims to be sodium reduced, check the Nutrition Facts table to find the exact amount of sodium in the product. It may still have a high amount of sodium .
  • Eat more fresh or plain frozen vegetables and fruit.
  • Reduce the amount of salt you add while cooking, baking or at the table.
  • Experiment with other seasonings, such as garlic, lemon juice, and fresh or dried herbs.
  • When eating out, ask for nutrient information for the menu items and select meals lower in sodium.  
Related information

Find heart-healthy, low-salt recipes.

Learn more about the DASH diet.

Get low-salt shopping tips. 

Use the salt calculator created by Project Big Life.