Check the label

Taste alone may not tell you which foods are high in sodium. For example, you may not think a bagel tastes salty. But a typical 4-inch oat bran bagel has about 600 mg of sodium. And that's before you put anything on it. Even a slice of whole-wheat bread contains about 150 mg of sodium. So a sandwich could have at least 300 mg of sodium even before adding vegetables or meats.

So how can you tell which foods are high in sodium? Read food labels. The Nutrition Facts label found on most packaged and processed foods lists the amount of sodium in each serving. It also lists whether the ingredients include salt or items that contain sodium, such as:

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG).
• Baking soda, also called sodium bicarbonate.
• Baking powder.
• Disodium phosphate.
• Sodium alginate.
• Sodium citrate.
• Sodium nitrite.

Try to stay away from products with more than 200 mg of sodium a serving. And be sure you know how many servings are in a package. That information also is on the nutrition label.