Low Sodium Vegetarian Foods in India: Sodium per 100 g in 145 Foods (IFCT 2017)

By NYUS Inc. · Published 25 October 2026

Of the 145 vegetarian foods ranked here from IFCT 2017, beet greens have the most sodium per 100 g (111 mg) and green colocasia stem the least (0.60 mg). The ranking uses the sodium (Na) column of Table 5 (Minerals and Trace Elements) of the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), for the raw food per 100 g with no salt added, so cooked dishes, pickles, papad and packaged foods are not in it. The page shows the 25 highest and the 26 lowest rows, and where everyday foods such as milk, paneer, dals, atta, rice and vegetables sit.

What IFCT 2017 measures for sodium

IFCT 2017 reports sodium (Na) in Table 5, Minerals and Trace Elements, in mg per 100 g edible portion, as the mean printed in the book (values are printed as whole numbers or with two decimals, exactly as in the book). The foods were analysed as they are, so the numbers are the sodium naturally in the raw food, not what is added as salt in cooking or at the table. The book measured sodium by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (PDF page 25), and the table note on PDF page 151 says a blank cell means below the detectable limit. Every one of the 314 vegetarian rows has a sodium value printed, so none is blank.

25 vegetarian foods with the most sodium per 100 g

By IFCT 2017 Table 5, per 100 g of the raw food, of the 145 rows ranked here, beet greens (111 mg), beet root (69.44 mg) and orange carrot (52.33 mg) are the top three, and tender tinda (20.61 mg) is last of the 25 shown. Rank 1 is the most sodium, and rows with the same printed value share a rank. Our reading: the table compares rows, it does not say how much of any food to eat, and the values are means of 5 or 6 regional samples.

The 26 vegetarian foods with the least sodium per 100 g

At the other end of the same ranking, the lowest printed values are green colocasia stem (0.60 mg), ash gourd (0.77 mg) and ripe banana (0.85 mg). Two rows share the value 1.62 mg (jackfruit, ripe and watermelon), so the lowest 26 rows are shown, not 25, to avoid cutting a tie. The rank is out of 145, where 145 is the least sodium.

This is a selection: the 145 vegetarian rows measured in exactly 5 or 6 regions with a sodium value printed, without spices and condiments, were ranked, and the highest 25 and lowest 26 are shown, not every row in the book. Spices and condiments, such as cloves (G023, 183 mg, 6 regions) and cumin seeds (G025, 125 mg, 6 regions), are eaten in grams, so they are left out like seasonings; mustard seeds (H013), tamarind pulp and dried arecanut are left out for the same reason, and betel leaves (C010) because they are chewed, not eaten as a food. Eggs are left out because this is a vegetarian list. Rows measured in fewer than 5 regions, or in more than 6, are not ranked (one vegetarian row, toddy, K001, was measured in 10 regions and is an alcoholic drink, so it is left out). Strawberry (E063) is printed with 6 regions in one half of the table and 1 in the other, so it is not ranked.

Where everyday foods sit

Each row below is measured in 5 or 6 regions, and the last column is its rank among the 145 rows described above (1 = most sodium; rows with the same printed value share a rank).

What a serving holds, with weights we chose

IFCT lists foods per 100 g, so a serving needs a weight, and each weight below is ours. Each figure is the value per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, to the nearest 0.01 mg. These are raw-food or as-sold values with no salt added, not what is in a cooked dish.

What the numbers say

• Vegetables, leaves and milk lead the highest 25. Other vegetables fill 6 of the 25, grain legumes 5, green leafy vegetables 4, roots and tubers 3 and milk products 3; the top 10 hold 3 leafy greens, 2 roots, 2 milk products, 2 other vegetables and linseeds.
• Fruits fill 14 of the lowest 26. Seven other vegetables, three nuts and seeds (almond 1.50 mg, walnut 1.33 mg and pine seed 1.31 mg), refined wheat flour (1.54 mg) and sugarcane juice (1.16 mg) make up the rest.
• Cereals sit in the lower half. Per 100 g wheat flour (atta) 2.04 mg, raw milled rice 2.34 mg and ragi 4.75 mg, ranks 109, 102 and 74 of 145.
• Dals differ by a factor of two. Per 100 g of dry dal, chana dal 20.83 mg, toor dal 18.01 mg, urad dal 18.88 mg, masoor dal 10.27 mg and moong dal 10.14 mg.

What this page leaves out

• Added salt, cooked dishes, pickles, papad, namkeen, packaged and restaurant foods: IFCT 2017 reports raw foods, and the sodium in these is a different number that this page does not give.
• Absorption and cooking: we did not read a source that gives how much of the sodium in a food the body takes up or what is left after cooking for Indian foods.
• Blood pressure, the heart, the kidneys and any other condition: this page makes no claim about them and says nothing about which foods to eat or avoid.
• Daily limits, targets, supplements and doses: none is quoted here.
• Eggs and non-vegetarian foods, rows with fewer than 5 or more than 6 regions, and whether you have too much or too little of any nutrient: only a doctor or registered dietitian can tell you that.

A note on health

This article is general educational content, not medical advice. It does not say that any food prevents or treats any condition. If you have high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, are pregnant or breastfeeding, follow a restricted diet, take medicines or supplements, or have been told a nutrient is low or high, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.

For other minerals from the same table, see potassium-rich foods, calcium-rich vegetarian foods, magnesium-rich vegetarian foods, zinc-rich vegetarian foods, phosphorus-rich vegetarian foods and the vegetarian nutrient guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017). Table 5 (Minerals and Trace Elements), Sodium (Na, mg) column, per 100 g edible portion, mean values as printed, rows opened and read from the PDF on 25 Oct 2026: PDF pages 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 180, 182, 184 for the ranked rows shown, PDF pages 152 to 206 (even pages) for all other rows, PDF page 151 for the table note on blank cells. Methods: PDF pages 25 and 28.

The serving weights, the ranks and the serving figures are NYUS's own arithmetic, and every sentence starting "Our reading" is NYUS opinion, not from a study. Names in brackets are our matching to the IFCT row names.