Hidden salt (sodium)
Salt (sodium) can be found in many substances that you might not suspect. Some non-prescription medications and many canned and other processed foods contain sodium.
Check your food labels. Sodium can have many different names. Be careful about using products that have these ingredients:
- Monosodium glutamate, or MSG (often added to Chinese food)
- Sodium citrate
- Sodium sulfite
- Sodium caseinate
- Sodium benzoate
- Sodium hydroxide
- Disodium phosphate
Check your medications. Sodium can be an ingredient in medicines.
- Prescription medicines. Talk with your doctor about whether the medicines you take contain salt.
- Non-prescription medicines. Many medicines that you can buy without a prescription contain sodium. Read the labels. If you are not sure whether a medicine contains sodium, talk with a pharmacist. Be sure to check with your health professional before taking any new non-prescription medicine.
| Author: | Douglas Dana Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 23, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology | |
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