Healthy snacks high in sodium include salted nuts/seeds, olives, cheese (like string cheese or cottage cheese), pickles, edamame, seaweed, and air-popped popcorn, offering protein, healthy fats, or fiber alongside salt, often useful for conditions like POTS but requiring portion control for general health. You can also find sodium in canned beans/seafood, jerky, and broths, though these might be higher in sodium than ideal for daily intake unless needed for medical reasons.
High salt snacks include:
Some of the top sources of sodium for U.S. adults and children ages 1 and older include:
Healthiest Salty Snacks
Consider these surprising sources of sodium:
Sea salt is often promoted as being healthier than table salt. But sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value. Sea salt and table salt contain comparable amounts of sodium by weight. Whichever type of salt you enjoy, do so in moderation.
In addition, breakfast foods such as sausage, bacon, and cheese-rich meals are laden with salt, so switching the salt out makes a significant impact.
Have a Chip Craving? Here Are 6 Healthy Chip Alternatives to Try!
Healthy snacks to satisfy your salt craving
Fresh vegetables: Try sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, mini tomatoes, sugar snap peas, baby carrots or sliced beets. You can eat them plain or dip them in hummus or a dip made with Greek yogurt.
Snack on healthy options.
To increase your sodium levels, consider eating foods like grilled or smoked meat and fish, sausages, chorizo, canned meat, cheese, tuna in brine, and salted nuts. You could add salt to your fresh salad, stews or soups, as well.
High-sodium electrolyte drinks are having a moment. If you haven't heard of buzzy brands like LMNT, Cadence, or Re-Lyte, the executive summary is that they have three to six times more sodium per serving than stalwarts such as Gatorade and Nuun.
Eggs provide high-quality protein and essential nutrients. They’re low in sodium and potassium but contain phosphorus.
Here are eight examples of foods that tend to be highest in sodium.
Signs and symptoms
According to the USDA, Greek yogurt has 50 percent less sodium than regular yogurt. Fewer carbohydrates. If you're counting carbs or have diabetes, this is great news.
When you crave salt, it is best to choose a salty snack that is also low in calories but provides protein and fiber. Popcorn, beef jerky, and salted nuts are all good choices.
Sodium deficiency triggers the activation of these hormonal systems and neural circuits to engage motivational processes that elicit a craving for salty substances and a state of reward when salty foods are consumed.
You can enjoy the crunch without compromising your health by choosing nutrient-rich alternatives like veggie crisps, air-popped popcorn, nuts, and roasted chickpeas. Portion control, mindful eating, and pairing snacks with protein or fiber-rich foods are key to guilt-free snacking.
Raw vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers are a much healthier alternative to chips, specifically if you want to replace tortilla chips! Sliced raw vegetables still have that nice crunch that regular chips do, but contain virtually zero grams of fat.
Potato chips aren't the only way to satisfy a salty tooth. Try lower sodium options, such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds and low-sodium nuts and pretzels. “The little hummus cups with vegetables or pretzel thins are also a better option.” Recognize hunger cues versus cravings.
Protein- and fiber-rich snacks can provide beneficial nutrients and help keep you satisfied between meals. Examples of nutritious, filling snacks include hummus and sliced veggies, cheese with whole-grain crackers, and yogurt topped with fruit, nuts, and/or seeds.
36 Savory Breakfast Ideas to Power You Through the Morning
A single egg contains a mere 65mg of sodium while other popular breakfast proteins such as bacon or sausage may contain up to 500mg of sodium per serving. Pre-packaged and cured meats are most often unsuitable for your low sodium needs, so finding a proper low sodium protein to eat for breakfast is a must!
5 Foods that you didn't know were high in salt. Breakfast cereals: Cornflakes (550mg per 100g), Rice Bubbles (550mg per 100g) and Nutri-Grain (480mg per 100) all contain more salt than we would like to see in a breakfast cereal. Ideally, choose a breakfast cereal that has less than 400mg of sodium (salt) per 100g.