Surprisingly High-Sodium Foods You're Eating Without Realizing

37. Pizza (Frozen or Takeout)

Everyone knows pizza can be salty, but it’s the synergy of high-sodium ingredients that makes it extreme. The crust often has significant salt, layered with salty tomato sauce, processed cheese (like mozzarella), and toppings like pepperoni, sausage, or olives, each adding another hit. A single slice can easily contain 600-1000+ mg of sodium. Eating several slices can demolish your daily sodium allowance in one sitting. Choosing veggie toppings, asking for less cheese, or making pizza at home offers much better control.

38. Bottled Marinades

Looking to infuse flavor into meat or plant proteins quickly? Bottled marinades are convenient but often loaded with sodium. Ingredients like soy sauce, salt, and various flavor enhancers are used liberally for taste and preservation. Just two tablespoons of a typical teriyaki, BBQ, or steak marinade can contain 300-600 mg of sodium or more, which gets absorbed deeply into the food during marination. Whipping up your own marinade with citrus, vinegar, herbs, garlic, and minimal low-sodium soy sauce is a much healthier approach.