Diabetes Health Center

A Healthy Type 2 Diabetes Diet

Salt in a Type 2 Diabetes Diet

Diabetes increases your risk for high blood pressure. High levels of salt (sodium) in your diet can further increase that risk. Your health care provider or dietitian may ask you to limit or avoid these high-salt foods:

• Salt and seasoned salt (or salt seasonings)
• Boxed mixes of potatoes, rice, or pasta
• Canned meats
• Canned soups and vegetables (with salt)
• Cured or processed foods
• Ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, other spreads and canned sauces
• Packaged soups, gravies, or sauces
• Pickled foods
• Processed meats: lunch meat, sausage, bacon, and ham
• Olives
• Salty snack foods
• Monosodium glutamate or MSG
• Soy and steak sauces

Low-Salt Cooking Tips

• Use fresh ingredients and/or foods with no salt added.
• For favorite recipes, you may need to use other ingredients and eliminate or decrease the salt you would normally add.
• Try orange or pineapple juice as a base for meat marinades.
• Avoid convenience foods such as canned soups, entrées, and vegetables; pasta and rice mixes; frozen dinners; instant cereal; and pudding, gravy, and sauce mixes.
• Select frozen entrees that contain 600 milligrams or less of sodium. However, limit yourself to one of these frozen entrees per day. Check the Nutrition Facts label on the package for sodium content.
• Use fresh, frozen, no-added-salt canned vegetables, or canned vegetables that have been rinsed before they are prepared.
• Low-salt canned soups may be used.
• Avoid mixed seasonings and spice blends that include salt, such as garlic salt.

What Seasonings Can Replace Salt?

Herbs and spices are the answer to improving the natural flavors in food without using salt. Below are some mixtures to use for meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, soups, and salads.

Spicy Blend
2 tablespoons dried savory, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon curry powder

Saltless Surprise
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon powdered lemon rind or dehydrated lemon juice

Herb Seasoning
2 tablespoons dried dill weed or basil leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
A pinch of freshly ground pepper

Spicy Seasoning
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon coriander seed (crushed)
1 tablespoon rosemary