Condiments add flavour and enjoyment to food but often contain a lot of added sodium and sugars. Prepared foods often contain hidden sodium. You can lower your blood pressure or even prevent its rise by reducing your sodium intake, so try to use fresh or dried herbs, unsalted spices, lemon juice and flavoured vinegar to add flavour to foods.
- Read the ingredient list for any ingredient with sodium in the name (e.g., sodium chloride)
- Check for hidden sources of sodium – these could be listed as salt, sodium, soy sauce, sea salt, meat tenderizer, yeast extract, salted herbs or spices.
Choose sodium-free or low sodium options to flavour your foods:
| GREAT CHOICES | GOOD CHOICES | CHOOSE RARELY | |
| Condiments |
Fresh or dried herbs, unsalted spices and seasonings (garlic powder, celery powder, etc). Lemon juice, vinegar Flavouring extracts |
Sodium-reduced ketchup, soy sauce, BBQ sauces
Mustard, horseradish |
Table salt, sea salt, Mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) Salted herbs and spices, meat tenderizer, yeast extracts Prepared/seasoned coatings for meat, fish, poultry |
Serving Sizes
