If you’ve been told to reduce your sodium intake to lower your blood pressure, you know how hard it is. The mineral seems to be in most foods and beverages.

An easy way to reduce your intake is to read and compare food nutrition labels. It also helps to know the average sodium content in a variety of foods—especially those that have a surprisingly high amount, so you can avoid them. This chart provides the average sodium contents of a variety of foods and drinks.

Food	Serving size	Sodium (mg)
Dehydrated onion soup mix	1 packet	3,132
Seasoned bread crumbs	1/2 c.	1,500
Canned chicken noodle soup	1 c.	1,106
Macaroni and cheese	1 c.	1,058
Pasta with meatballs	1 c.	1,053
Pretzels, hard, salted	10	1,029
Beans, baked, canned	1 c.	1,008
Soy sauce	1 T.	1,000
Beef stew, canned	1 c.	974
Cottage cheese, creamed	1 c.	851
Beans, refried	1 c.	753
Canned cream-style corn	1 c.	730
Teriyaki sauce	1 T.	690
Potato chips	3 oz.	638
Beef or pork salami	2 slices	604
Spaghetti sauce	1/2 c.	600
Bologna	2 slices	578
Salmon, canned	3 oz.	471
Croissant	1 medium	424
American cheese, pasteurized	1 oz.	405
Bagel, onion or poppy seed	1 medium	379
Pork sausage	2 links	336
Biscuit, buttermilk	1 medium	325
Danish pastry, cheese	1 medium	320
Tuna, white, canned	3 oz.	320
Feta cheese	1 oz.	316
Chocolate cake	1 slice	299
Corn flakes	1 c.	298
Milk shake, thick vanilla	11 fl. oz.	297
Milk, canned, nonfat evaporated	1 c.	294
Salad dressing, French	1 T.	214
Nuts, dry roasted, salt added	1 oz.	190
Cheddar cheese	1 oz.	176
Saltine crackers	4 crackers	156
Doughnut	1 plain	153

For more information, visit the American Heart Association at www.americanheart.org and search for “sodium.”

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