How Much Sodium Is in Rice?

Sodium, also known as table salt, is essential to the natural electrolyte balance that protects your body from dehydration and serves other crucial biological functions. Sodium intake is a delicate balance, because excess consumption of sodium can increase your blood pressure and possibly cause kidney damage. All varieties of rice contain little or no sodium when prepared without added table salt.

A small bowl of cooked rice. (Image: thakerngsak/iStock/Getty Images)

White Rice

Cooked white rice is sodium-free when cooked in water with no added salt. Any addition of salted butter, broth or salt-blended seasonings will add sodium. White rice in its original form contains no sodium.

Brown Rice

Brown rice is the result of a refining process that removes only the first layer, or husk, of the rice grain. Cooked in water without added salt, brown rice contains 2 mg sodium per cup. You should eat less than 2,300 mg of sodium daily according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, and only 1,500 mg or less if your doctor recommends a low-sodium diet to address diabetes, high blood pressure or other risk factors. Brown rice contains more sodium than white rice, but it's still a trivial amount, and it also provides 3 additional grams of fiber and fewer overall carbohydrates.

Wild Rice

Wild rice contains 5 mg sodium per cup, only slightly more than white and brown rice. Wild rice provides fewer carbohydrates than white or brown varieties, and offers 3 g dietary fiber per serving. Wild rice also offers 6 g protein per cup, 2 g more than a similar serving of brown and white rice.

Considerations

Sodium content in the rice is minimal, but when you purchase prepackaged rice dishes and sides with the seasonings included, the seasonings are often very high in sodium. Regulate the sodium in prepared side dishes by making the rice and seasoning it yourself with herbs and spices to suit your flavor preferences and limiting added sodium.