Condensed soup in a can is fantastic for a quick meal at home that you can just put on the stove and let simmer for a few minutes. Some companies have been marketing “healthy” varieties of soup with less sodium or fat in them. How do these healthier soups stack up nutrition-wise? Here’s a look at how these common brands of soup can be healthier for you.
Sodium
The key to deciphering how nutritious your soup is lies with the sodium content on the label. Salt is used not only as a flavoring in condensed soups but also to help preserve the ingredients in the can for many years. The American Heart Association suggests that Americans should consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium per day to maintain a healthy intake. Sodium is necessary for proper nutrition, but too much affects your heart, blood pressure, and kidneys.
Soup, unfortunately, is one of the leading causes of too much sodium in the American diet according to the American Heart Association. Something that is labeled as “healthy” must not exceed 480 milligrams of sodium per serving per government guidelines. Still, 480 milligrams is nearly one third of your daily intake of sodium so you should be careful when selecting and eating “healthy” soups.
Brand Comparison
Looking at the nutrition labels of top brands of soup, here is the lowdown on some sodium content. Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup has 890 mg of sodium per serving, well over half of your recommended intake. Progresso does better with its Traditional Chicken Noodle soup that comes in at 690 milligrams per serving.
Both brands have made low fat soups and low sodium varieties. Campbell’s makes a reduced sodium chicken noodle soup that still comes in at 660 milligrams of sodium, just barely lower than the Progresso normal variety. Progresso’s Reduced Sodium Chicken Noodle has 470 milligrams of sodium per serving or twenty percent of your daily intake.
Healthier Choices
There are ways to eat healthier even with these two major brands. The key is, of course, to read to the label. Anything labeled “healthy” must contain less than 480 milligrams of salt but it is important to also look at what else is in the can. Even Progresso’s “light” variety soup still has a lot of sodium in it so that may not be the wisest choice.
There are no easy answers when it comes to major brands. Soups with less broth and more “hearty” ingredients may be more nutritious for you with added vitamins from carrots and other vegetables but they may still be high in sodium. Look for soups that have a lot of good ingredients as far as meat and vegetables but without a lot of sodium.
A good place to start would be Campbell’s Chunky Healthy Request. A look at their Chicken Noodle variety yields only 410 milligrams of sodium and 30 percent of your daily intake of Vitamin A. There are even two grams of dietary fiber. Their regular variety of condensed chicken noodle soup only has four percent of your daily value of Vitamin A. Progresso’s Reduced Sodium Chicken Noodle also does better with a quarter of your daily value of Vitamin A.
You can simplify your search by looking at the picture on the label. Are there lots of varied ingredients on the spoon or in the bowl, or is the soup mostly broth and noodles? Then compare to how much sodium you’ll be getting and you have a decent idea of how nutritious a store bought soup really is when you serve it to your family. Go for chunkier soups and look for the word “healthy” on the label for smarter soup shopping. You may pay a little extra, but the health benefits versus other soups will be well worth it.
For an alternative, the Mayo Clinic has a list of healthy soup recipes that you can try to make yourself at home. Making your own soup may be the only way to ensure that you know what nutrition you are getting with the soups you eat.
The American Heart Association, the Campbell Soup website, and the Progresso website all contributed the information for this article.
