Sodium is an essential nutrient required by the body for maintaining blood volume and pressure and for transmitting nerve impulses.

Sodium, together with chloride forms table salt or sodium chloride. Processed foods are by far the largest contributor of sodium in the diet, accounting for about 80% of our total sodium intake.

Over-consumption of sodium increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. As such, it is wise to regulate the amount of sodium you eat, and if you have high blood pressure to restrict your consumption of sodium, while boosting your consumption of potassium.

The current daily value (DV) for sodium is 2300mg, however, the American Heart Association recommends that people with high blood pressure eat less than 1500mg per day or less than 3/4 of a tablespoon of salt.

Fortunately, almost all foods are naturally low in sodium and it is easy to avoid consuming sodium if you stick to eating whole unprocessed foods without adding any salt or sauces. So a low sodium diet could be seen as more of an exercise in avoiding high sodium foods, than eating low sodium foods.

Healthy low sodium foods include vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, legumes, nuts, meats, oils, and fish. Be sure foods are not canned, or otherwise prepared with salt, or sauces that contain salt. Below is an overview of the top 10 foods lowest in sodium for your blood pressure diet.