One of the most concentrated form of sodium comes in all of the processed and prepared foods available today. Soup often comes highly processed and canned. Follow a few simple guidelines to ensure you know how much sodium you’re ingesting and how to choose low sodium soups wherever you get them.
Prepare your soup at home for one of the healthiest, heartiest ways to lower your sodium intake. Choose fresh vegetables, organic meats and limit your spices to herbs and seasonings that are salt free.
Ask for nutrition guidelines before you order soup off of the menu at a restaurant or deli. Some restaurants make their own soup and they tend to be lower in sodium, but be careful with soups that are processed, made from concentrate or have any sort of cheese base.
Read over soup labels before choosing your low sodium soup. Some brands have made it easy to find the low sodium soups by labeling them “low sodium” or “healthy” on the front. Beware of the “healthy” label, as it could refer to a lower fat or calorie version, which isn’t necessarily going to be lower in sodium.
Check vegetarian soups to see how much sodium they contain. Often, soups that don’t contain meat tend to be lower in overall sodium. If you can find a vegetarian soup that contains beans or rice in addition to vegetables, you can fill up on less, further reducing your sodium intake.
Choose Kosher salt over regular table salt if you must salt your soup. Kosher salt has nearly half the sodium content of table salt, and doesn’t contain other fillers.