Food and medication
Salt and medication
Salt changes how much water your body keeps. Sudden changes in how much salt you eat matter for lithium, and a lot of salt works against blood pressure and heart medicines.
4 medicines on our checker are affected. Tap a medicine for every food and drink that matters with it.
Take care salt with these medicines
- ACE inhibitors · ramipril, lisinopril, perindopril
A lot of salt works against blood pressure control.
- Amlodipine · amlodipine, amlodipine besylate, Istin
A lot of salt works against blood pressure control.
- Corticosteroids · prednisolone, prednisone, dexamethasone
Steroids make you hold on to salt and water. Keep salty foods down.
- Lithium · priadel, camcolit, lithium carbonate
Lithium levels rise when you suddenly eat less salt and fall when you eat more. Keep your salt intake steady.
Foods and drinks that count as salt
- Salt
- Crisps
- Bacon
- Ham
- Sausages
- Stock cubes
- Gravy granules
- Ready meals
- Takeaways
- Pizza
- Salted nuts
- Tinned soup
- Smoked fish
- Olives
- Anchovies
- Processed meat
- Instant noodles
- Soluble tablets
- Bread
- Cheese
- Salted butter
- Pickles
- Ketchup
- Marmite
- Salami
- Salted popcorn
- Pretzels
- Cured meats
Common questions
- Which medicines does salt affect?
- 4 medicines on our checker: ACE inhibitors (take care), Amlodipine (take care), Corticosteroids (take care), Lithium (take care).
- Which foods count as salt?
- Salt, Crisps, Bacon, Ham, Sausages, Stock cubes, Gravy granules, Ready meals, Takeaways, Pizza, Salted nuts, Tinned soup, Smoked fish, Olives, Anchovies, Processed meat, Instant noodles, Soluble tablets, Bread, Cheese, Salted butter, Pickles, Ketchup, Marmite, Salami, Salted popcorn, Pretzels, Cured meats.
General information from NHS medicine pages and drug labels, not medical advice. Always follow your prescriber, pharmacist or the leaflet with your medicine. How we check.