Two soups sit side by side on the supermarket shelf. One lists sodium per small serving, the other per larger serving. Read only those two numbers and the comparison is muddled from the start. Put both products on the same quantity first, then work out what the amount you actually eat adds.
That two-step check is what makes a nutrition panel useful in the aisle. You do not have to calculate every meal. One food you buy regularly is enough to learn from.
Find the sodium row
On a New Zealand nutrition information panel, sodium has its own row, usually in milligrams. Food Standards Australia New Zealand explains that the panel reports average quantities and includes a per-100-gram or per-100-millilitre column so you can compare similar foods. FSANZ: nutrition information panels.
Compare soup with soup and bread with bread. A concentrated sauce set against a ready-to-eat meal tells you less about which one suits the meal you are making. If a product needs preparation, check whether the figures describe it as sold or as prepared, and use the same basis for both.
Keep the pack in front of you while you compare. Front-of-pack wording can point you toward an option, but the nutrition panel holds the figures this decision needs.
Why sodium deserves attention
Sodium is an essential nutrient. Too much of it raises blood pressure and, with it, cardiovascular risk. WHO recommends that adults consume less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium a day, equivalent to less than five grams of salt. That is population guidance, not a personalised target for every clinical or sporting situation. WHO: sodium reduction.
Salt and sodium are related, but they are not the same unit. Do not set a figure in grams of salt against a figure in milligrams of sodium as if they were interchangeable. The simplest comparison in the shop is sodium against sodium, same column and same unit on each product.
Someone managing a medical condition should follow their own clinician’s advice. A general label-reading article cannot establish an appropriate individual sodium target.
Use per 100 grams for the fair comparison
Take two similar soups with the invented values below. These are teaching examples, not measurements of any named product.
| Example soup | Sodium per 100 g | Sodium in 300 g |
|---|---|---|
| Soup A | 300 mg | 900 mg |
| Soup B | 200 mg | 600 mg |
At the same 300-gram quantity, Soup B supplies 300 milligrams less sodium. That arithmetic shows the difference between these examples; it does not predict a specific change in your blood pressure.
FSANZ recommends the per-100-gram figure for comparing the sodium concentration of like foods. FSANZ: how much sodium is in foods?.
Then look at the portion you use
A lower concentration does not mean a lower total intake if you eat a lot more of the product. Once you have compared like with like, check the amount you usually use. If you eat the whole container, read the net quantity and the number of stated servings.
The sum is sodium per 100 grams multiplied by the number of 100-gram amounts you eat. A 300-gram portion is three of them. For liquids labelled per 100 millilitres, keep the sum in millilitres rather than swapping between volume and weight partway through.
None of this needs a new weighing routine for every meal. Start with one repeat purchase where the number would change what you buy, then decide whether the comparison is worth keeping.
Keep the rest of the food in the picture
Sodium is one part of the decision. Taste, price, allergies, fibre and what the food brings to the meal still count. An option nobody will eat is not going to improve the household’s usual pattern.
Try a lower-sodium version of a familiar product, check whether it works in the same meal, and keep it if the swap suits you. One nutrient is not a complete ranking of every food.
Bring one comparison to your next check-in
Pick a food you buy often and photograph both panels for your own reference. Note the shared comparison basis, your usual quantity, and whether the alternative is affordable and something you would actually eat. That gives a coach a concrete decision to work through with you.
If you want help connecting what is on the label with how you actually eat, explore Inception Nutrition coaching. Bring the ordinary products from your shopping basket. That is where a useful conversation starts.
