Before salmon is smoked to derive that delightful oaky taste, it needs to be cured. The curing process involves slathering the fish with salt, a major sodium contributor, and other ingredients. Just one slice of smoked salmon contains 317mg of sodium. In comparison, a slice of salmon sashimi has about 5mg.

Cut the sodium: If you must have smoked fish, limit yourself to three slices, says Jaclyn.

Flaky, buttery pastries like croissants are known to be high-fat, but they also come with a lot of sodium – about 400mg in just one piece. Another sodium-laden item: Bagels – some larger ones contain nearly 700mg.

Even wholemeal bread has a fair amount of sodium at about 150mg per slice. “It actually has nearly the same amount of sodium as a serving of potato chips, but as the salt is on the surface of the chip, it’s easier to taste. With bread, it’s baked in,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, a US-based dietitian and author of The Secret To Skinny: How Salt Makes You Fat, and the 4-Week Plan to Drop a Size and Get Healthier with Simple Low-Sodium Swaps.

Cut the sodium: Avoid overeating bread and pastries. As a guide, have no more than two slices of wholemeal bread each time, says Jaclyn.

In general, canned or preserved products are higher in sodium, due to the addition of preservatives, sauces and seasonings. Premade soup may be instantly gratifying on a dreary day, but one serving of cream of seafood has over 1,000mg of sodium – that’s two-thirds your daily quota.

Cut the sodium: Prepare your own broth. For instance, boil celery, carrots, onions, garlic and mushrooms for a few hours, adding chicken bones if you want more flavour, suggests Jaclyn. If you’re using stock cubes, pick those with less than 200mg sodium per 100g.

You might want to think twice about filling your morning sandwich with luncheon meat, ham or another processed cold cut. These artificially derived items – reconstituted from ground meat, bread crumbs, pepper and salt – are saturated with sodium.

A slice of canned luncheon meat has 390mg, chicken ham has 241mg, and a chicken sausage has 669mg. Even a really thin slice of bacon packs 192mg of sodium. Definitely think twice about second helpings.

Cut the sodium: Where possible, use fresh or frozen meat and tofu. They’re great in soup and stir-fries, and have way less sodium than their processed counterparts, says Jaclyn.

It may be convenient to buy salad dressings off the shelf, but most commercial brands of salad dressing can contain up to 300mg of sodium per two tablespoons. Sugar-free and fat-free varieties, which seem like the healthier option, tend to compensate for the loss of flavour by adding more salt.

Cut the sodium: You can choose low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties, but they probably won’t taste good. A better idea: Use lemon juice or a vinaigrette dressing on your salad: a tablespoon of each contains less than 1mg sodium, says Jaclyn.

While it’s a good source of calcium and protein, feta cheese can be loaded with sodium –1,376mg per 150g cup.

Cut the sodium: If you love feta cheese, look for low-sodium versions whenever possible. A better choice is plain yogurt with about 150mg of sodium, or a slice of Swiss cheese, which has just 20mg. Alternatively, use light spreadable cream cheese, which contains 396mg of sodium per cup.

Having a chicken caesar salad instead of a cheeseburger may save you some calories, but the sodium content of fast food salads is amped up by the ready-made dressing. Plus, the sachet of ranch isn’t the only culprit. High-sodium meats, croutons and other additions contribute to the salt count. For example, the charbroiled chicken salad with dressing at Carl’s Jr. has 850mg of sodium.

Cut the sodium: Order the salad without dressing – or have the dressing sparingly by the side – and toss out some croutons.

Text: Estelle Low/HerWorld

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