Is Miso a High-Sodium Food?

Miso is a highly healthy food to eat, offering many valuable nutrients that could account for Japan’s impressive health record. However, this famous fermented soy product is also known to be fairly high in sodium. Featuring between 200 and 300 milligrams of sodium in a single teaspoon, miso can easily frighten away people who are struggling with high blood pressure. But is this fear unfounded?

Recent studies have demonstrated that, despite miso’s high sodium content, it may not have quite the effect on your cardiovascular health as you might think. Researchers fed miso and a comparable concentration of salt to animals, discovering that those who got most of their sodium from miso did not experience an increase in blood pressure. Further human studies showed that Japanese people who regularly consume miso enjoy greater cardiovascular health. The reasons behind this are unclear.

With this in mind, feel free to eat the miso soup at our Japanese restaurant in Seattle without guilt. We offer regular miso, asari miso, king crab miso, and nameko mushroom miso.