The supermarket is full of foods labelled with reduced sodium or light in sodium. However, DO NOT ASSUME that means they are low in sodium. For instance, a can of chicken noodle soup with a 25% salt reduction claim nevertheless has a whopping 524 mg of sodium per cup. Only ordinary chicken noodle soup, which contains more than 790 mg of sodium per cup, is lower in salt than this dish.

Here’s a rundown on common sodium claims and what they really mean:

• Sodium-free or salt-free.Each serving in this product contains less than 5 mg of sodium
• Very low sodium.Each serving contains 35 mg of sodium or less
• Low sodium.Each serving contains 140 mg of sodium or less
• Reduced or less sodium.The product contains at least 25% less sodium than the regular version
• Lite or light in sodium.The sodium content has been decreased by at least 50% from the regular version.
• Unsalted or no salt added.No salt is added during processing of a food that normally contains salt. However, some of the foods with these labels may still be high in sodium because some of the ingredients may be high in sodium.