What are the best sources of Sodium?
tangent836
Posts: 14 Member
I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
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Replies
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First, double check to ensure the entries you are choosing are accurate. Some database entries may not have the sodium information so you may already be getting enough.
If you do need more, there is no problem with using table salt.9 -
If the food is verified on myfitnespal, then I can assume that the amount of salt it lists is accurate, right?4
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tangent836 wrote: »If the food is verified on myfitnespal, then I can assume that the amount of salt it lists is accurate, right?
Not necessarily...it just means some user clicked "verified." Not sure why there would be anything wrong with adding table salt to food...sodium is an essential electrolyte and people have been seasoning their foods with salt for a very long time.
Sodium is in most things...even in small amounts in whole foods. Obviously packaged foods will have sodium...I eat things like canned tuna, beans, etc. If I really need a boost like in summer when I'm riding in 100+* weather, I eat a pickle when I get home and take a shot of pickle juice.5 -
Good advice from @janejellyroll.
To add to that, if you are exercising and do so in a moderate amount - you could always look into something like Nuun tablets. They provide 360mg of sodium per tablet.
I generally don’t get enough sodium in my diet from daily food consumption and use the tablets to help combat the sodium lost from my workouts.
However, this may or may not be the right suggestion for you. Just tossing it out, as another possible alternative.
Edited: I’m not stalking @cwolfman13 , I swear! LOL. That’s two posts in a row. XD1 -
tangent836 wrote: »If the food is verified on myfitnespal, then I can assume that the amount of salt it lists is accurate, right?
No, it just means that a number of your fellow users have checked a box saying they *think* it is accurate. I have found verified entries that aren't correct.4 -
For a time, I had to increase my sodium. I used salt with iodine.2
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tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.7 -
tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).6 -
tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
All processed foods? Why?4 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
All processed foods? Why?
I've heard a nutritionist say that the less processed something is, that healthier it is for you.12 -
tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
Is there a particular reason? As your situation illustrates, including some processed foods in the diet is often a way to easily meet your nutritional needs.
Table salt and sodium tablets are also processed.6 -
janejellyroll wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
Is there a particular reason? As your situation illustrates, including some processed foods in the diet is often a way to easily meet your nutritional needs.
Table salt and sodium tablets are also processed.
Roberta H. Anding is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and a registered dietitian. She says that the less processed something is, the better it is for health.10 -
tangent836 wrote: »Roberta H. Anding is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and a registered dietitian. She says that the less processed something is, the better it is for you.
But that doesn't necessarily make sense. You need more sodium, right? So if a processed item has more sodium, then it's actually better for you currently, right?9 -
tangent836 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
Is there a particular reason? As your situation illustrates, including some processed foods in the diet is often a way to easily meet your nutritional needs.
Table salt and sodium tablets are also processed.
Roberta H. Anding is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and a registered dietitian. She says that the less processed something is, the better it is for health.
Roberta H. Anding is not right about this.
You don't have take my word for it, just think about it. Would it be better for you to avoid processed foods and genuinely not get enough sodium? No. In that situation, you'd be better off adding *something* to your diet to ensure you get what you need.
There are many foods with nutritional benefits that are not harmed or are even enhanced by processing. There is no good rationale for arbitrarily avoiding a food simply because it has undergone processing. Food processing allows us easily meet our nutritional needs year-round and at an affordable cost.10 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »Roberta H. Anding is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and a registered dietitian. She says that the less processed something is, the better it is for you.
But that doesn't necessarily make sense. You need more sodium, right? So if a processed item has more sodium, then it's actually better for you currently, right?
Possibly. I'm looking for the optimal solution. I want to consume the correct amount of sodium daily while avoiding processed food. Can't I have the best of both worlds?
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Raw fruits and vegetables won't help you hit your sodium goal4
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Less-processed doesn't have to mean unprocessed. Cooking is a form of processing and there are some foods whose nutrients we can make better use of when cooked. Tomatoes, for example. (Source: https://www.badgut.org/information-centre/health-nutrition/4-myths-food-nutrition/). To say nothing of the cooking process killing many harmful bacteria.
Freezing food locks the nutrients in at the point of freshness.
Fresh-squeezed orange juice? Processed again. As is peanut butter, tehina, the apple-and-pear sauce I just made in my crockpot...
Could you clarify with her whether she's talking about processed or ultra-processed foods? (Not that the latter should necessarily be demonized either, but it does make more sense to cut back—not necessarily eliminate entirely—those.)
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singingflutelady wrote: »Raw fruits and vegetables won't help you hit your sodium goal
Some vegetables have a higher amount than others (celery, artichokes, and I think beets), but you'd still need to eat a fair bit of them.0 -
tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
Do you really think there's something horribly wrong with canned tomatoes or canned beans? I understand wanting to limit or cut out ultra processed food items, but avoiding canned tomatoes like the plague seems a bit over the top. It's not like they're adding all kinds of things to them. The processing on most canned goods like that is very minimal, which is why they're referred to as minimally processed foods.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
If you're actually low on sodium, you're not going to beef it up much with vegetables. I would look more to minimally processed foods like canned goods, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, etc.
I'm trying to avoid processed foods like the plague. Wouldn't it be better to just take a sodium table like @RunnerGrl1982 suggested? Also, wouldn't it be more convenient to take when I'm working out? That way I don't have to drink gatoraid (yuck).
Is there a particular reason? As your situation illustrates, including some processed foods in the diet is often a way to easily meet your nutritional needs.
Table salt and sodium tablets are also processed.
Roberta H. Anding is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and a registered dietitian. She says that the less processed something is, the better it is for health.
Roberta H. Anding is not right about this.
You don't have take my word for it, just think about it. Would it be better for you to avoid processed foods and genuinely not get enough sodium? No. In that situation, you'd be better off adding *something* to your diet to ensure you get what you need.
There are many foods with nutritional benefits that are not harmed or are even enhanced by processing. There is no good rationale for arbitrarily avoiding a food simply because it has undergone processing. Food processing allows us easily meet our nutritional needs year-round and at an affordable cost.
I understand that there would have to be compromises made. That's why I'm trying to figure out what the optimal solution is. I am considering sodium pills. It's pretty easy to just take a pill. I can save my calories for food that will keep me full. And I wouldn't have to drink the disgusting gatoraid while working out.
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Sodium pills are processed
11 -
Why not just sprinkle a bit of salt or soy sauce on your food instead? (Note: I've never had Gatorade in my life.)4
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tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
Sodium is an extremely reactive metallic element and is never found in its elemental form naturally. Sodium chloride is one of its most commonly occurring compounds. Sodium chloride is an ionic compound which in fact has equal molar concentrations of sodium and chlorine. It is "mostly chloride" because sodium has a molecular weight of 23 g/mol while chlorine has a MW of 35.5 g/mol.
A typical carrot has 41 mg of sodium, while a teaspoon of table salt has 2300 mg of sodium. You're going to have to eat a lot of vegetables to get as much sodium as a pinch of salt provides. Tablets like Nuun still have sodium and potassium and other elements in a salt form - you're not getting elemental sodium.
I'm not going to wade into the "processing" debate, God help me, but sea salt is only lightly processed, and is certainly much less processed than electrolyte tablets.8 -
@cwolfman13 @janejellyroll @estherdragonbat @singingflutelady @Jruzer
I realize that. It seems it's pretty difficult to completely avoid processed foods. I'm not chemist or dietitian, but it seems that the salt in sodium pills will not be as affected by processing, as whatever they put in cans of tomatoes. Just a hunch. Like I said, what is the OPTIMAL solution? I'm not asking for the ideal.singingflutelady wrote: »Sodium pills are processed
10 -
tangent836 wrote: »tangent836 wrote: »I understand that an adult man has to consume at least 500 mg of Sodium a day and more if he exercises. Ever since I started dieting, I've realized that I am often not eating enough salt. What are the healthiest sources of salt? How do I make sure I eat enough of it? Is it a bad idea to simply add table salt to the food I'm eating?
THIS is hilarious!!! Dude, you really need to educate yourself on nutrition. Sodium = salt! WTF. SPRINKLE SOME EFFIN SALT ON YOUR FOOD. There are some of the stupidest people on this website. LMAO. Man...
For starters, Salt = Sodium + Chloride In fact, salt is MOSTLY chloride. Sodium is a nutrient that is found in many foods, salt being only one among them. My question was whether salt was a good source of sodium, or whether it's better to get it from other foods such as vegetables.
Sodium is an extremely reactive metallic element and is never found in its elemental form naturally. Sodium chloride is one of its most commonly occurring compounds. Sodium chloride is an ionic compound which in fact has equal molar concentrations of sodium and chlorine. It is "mostly chloride" because sodium has a molecular weight of 23 g/mol while chlorine has a MW of 35.5 g/mol.
A typical carrot has 41 mg of sodium, while a teaspoon of table salt has 2300 mg of sodium. You're going to have to eat a lot of vegetables to get as much sodium as a pinch of salt provides. Tablets like Nuun still have sodium and potassium and other elements in a salt form - you're not getting elemental sodium.
I'm not going to wade into the "processing" debate, God help me, but sea salt is only lightly processed, and is certainly much less processed than electrolyte tablets.
I agree. As far as processing goes, sea salt is basically evaporated seawater.
Sodium on its own is not particularly something you'd want to be ingesting. It's a VERY GOOD THING it combines easily with chloride. https://www.webelements.com/sodium/chemistry.html3 -
tangent836 wrote: »@cwolfman13 @janejellyroll @estherdragonbat @singingflutelady
I realize that. It seems it's pretty difficult to completely avoid processed foods. I'm not chemist or dietitian, but it seems that the salt in sodium pills will not be as affected by processing, as whatever they put in cans of tomatoes. Just a hunch. Like I said, what is the OPTIMAL solution? I'm not asking for the ideal.singingflutelady wrote: »Sodium pills are processed
Lol...have you actually ever looked at the ingredients label of a can of tomatoes?
Ingredients for Muir Glen canned tomatoes:
Organic Tomatoes, Organic Tomato Juice, Sea Salt, Citric Acid and Calcium Chloride.
ETA: if citric acid and calcium chloride sound scary, they're not. citric acid is the acid found in limes, lemons, oranges, and other citrus fruits. calcium chloride is a type of salt.
6 -
tangent836 wrote: »@cwolfman13 @janejellyroll @estherdragonbat @singingflutelady
I realize that. It seems it's pretty difficult to completely avoid processed foods. I'm not chemist or dietitian, but it seems that the salt in sodium pills will not be as affected by processing, as whatever they put in cans of tomatoes. Just a hunch. Like I said, what is the OPTIMAL solution? I'm not asking for the ideal.singingflutelady wrote: »Sodium pills are processed
You mean basil? https://smartlabel.labelinsight.com/product/4343283/ingredients Not in every variety.
https://smartlabel.labelinsight.com/product/4666807/ingredients
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tangent836 wrote: »@cwolfman13 @janejellyroll @estherdragonbat @singingflutelady @Jruzer
I realize that. It seems it's pretty difficult to completely avoid processed foods. I'm not chemist or dietitian, but it seems that the salt in sodium pills will not be as affected by processing, as whatever they put in cans of tomatoes. Just a hunch. Like I said, what is the OPTIMAL solution? I'm not asking for the ideal.singingflutelady wrote: »Sodium pills are processed
There is no evidence that the quality of sodium is harmed or degraded by it being included in a processed food. In fact, until today I have never even seen anybody claim that it was.
I'm not seeing the need for the *optimal* solution, I guess. To me, the optimal solution would be eating the foods I enjoy and meeting my nutritional needs, not about finding the exact right thing to eat for each individual dietary need.9 -
seaweed, things that use salt to preserve. can soups have a lot of sodium1
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