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Kidney DailyPractical kidney care

How to read sodium per serving

The number on the front of a package and the number you will actually eat are rarely the same.

  • 6 min read
  • Kidney Daily editorial team
  • Editorial draft
A shopper comparing the nutrition panels on two packages
Editorial draft — not reviewed

This prototype page is not approved health guidance and is blocked from search indexing. Its claims and sources still require an accountable author, a source check, and the qualified review shown at the foot of the page before publication.

Sodium is listed per serving, and the serving on the package is often smaller than the portion in the bowl. Learning to do one quick piece of arithmetic in the aisle makes labels far more useful.

Start with the serving size, not the sodium

The serving size appears near the top of the nutrition panel because the values below it apply to that stated amount. If a package contains more than one serving, the amount you use may represent more than one set of the listed values.

Compare like with like

  1. Check whether the two packages use the same serving size. If they do not, convert one.
  2. Divide the sodium by the serving weight in grams to get a per-gram figure for a fair comparison.
  3. Consider the portion you will realistically eat, not the printed portion.
  4. Note the result somewhere you will see it again next shopping trip.

Front-of-pack claims are marketing, not the panel

Phrases like reduced, light, or no added salt describe a comparison to another product, not an absolute amount. Reduced sodium can still be a high-sodium product. The nutrition panel and the ingredient list are the parts worth reading.

What not to change on your own

  • There is no universal sodium number that fits everyone with kidney disease — ask your care team what, if anything, they want you to aim for.
  • Do not switch to a salt substitute to solve a sodium instruction without asking first.

Bring anything on this list to your care team instead of acting on it yourself.

Sources

  1. Nutrition facts tablesHealth Canada · Updated September 5, 2024
  2. Sodium: using food labelsHealth Canada · Updated July 11, 2025
  3. Serving Size on the Nutrition Facts LabelU.S. Food and Drug Administration · Accessed August 11, 2026

These direct official sources support the draft. The draft still requires claim-by-claim source checking and qualified review before publication. Sources are not a substitute for instructions written for you. Read our editorial policy.

Author status

Editorial draft

Accountable author not yet assigned

Reviewer status

Nutrition review pending

Qualified renal dietitian reviewer not yet assigned

Editorial status
Editorial draft — not published
Review status
Nutrition review pending
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