Vegetarian gravy: the meat is gone and the sodium stays

Across 133 randomized trials in adults, every 50 mmol less sodium excreted a day, about 1.15 g, went with a systolic pressure 1.10 mm Hg lower. That is the number to hold vegetarian gravy against. One US survey entry puts a cup (240 g) at about 775 mg sodium, 346 calories and 24.5 g fat, and it is a single recipe-based entry, so homemade and packaged gravies can sit well above or below it. The smaller 2.1 oz (60 g) portion in the same data gives 194 mg sodium. A full cup covers about a third of the 2,300 mg daily upper limit for anyone aged 14 and over. We did not find a study of vegetarian gravy itself on any health outcome. What follows comes from studies of salt, of sauces as a sodium source, and of glutamate, the savory base many meat-free gravies are built on.

How much is actually in it

• A cup of vegetarian gravy (240 g) carries about 775 mg sodium, 346 calories and 24.5 g fat in US survey data. — US household measures, FNDDS (n = 1 food code) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: sodium 323 mg, energy 144 calories, protein 3.84 g, fat 10.2 g, carbohydrate 9.21 g; per cup 240 g: 775.2 mg, 345.6 calories, 9.2 g, 24.5 g, 22.1 g

What a real portion looks like

• In Victorian adults, gravies and savory sauces supplied 7% of dietary sodium, as much as processed meats. — 142 adults with a 24-hour recall in Victoria, Australia, 2016 to 2017, mean age 41 (n = 142) Evidence C source
  Gravies and savory sauces 7% of sodium; salt intake about 8.1 g a day by urine

What cooking and storage change

• Across 13 studies with data from 3,185 people, programs that cut the salt used in home cooking lowered 24-hour urinary sodium, a large pooled effect (Hedges g -1.06). — mostly adults (11 of 13 studies), home cooks and families, interventions from the past decade (n = 3185) Evidence A source
  Hedges g -1.06 (95% CI -1.68 to -0.44) for 24-hour urinary sodium; only 3 single studies were significant on their own
• Teaching home cooks to cut salt and to weigh salty condiments for 12 months lowered urinary sodium by 337 mg a day and systolic pressure by 2.0 mm Hg. — 1,576 adults from 788 families in 60 communities across six Chinese provinces, mean age 55.8 (n = 1576) Evidence B source
  Urinary sodium -336.8 mg/24 h (95% CI 127.9 to 545.7), systolic BP -2.0 mm Hg (0.4 to 3.5), diastolic -1.1 mm Hg (0.1 to 2.0)

What it does to your health

• Across 133 randomized trials, each 50 mmol (about 1.15 g) less sodium excreted per day went with a 1.10 mm Hg lower systolic pressure. — adults in randomized trials with 24-hour urinary sodium, hypertensive and normotensive (n = 12197) Evidence A source
  SBP -1.10 mm Hg (0.66 to 1.54) and DBP -0.33 mm Hg (0.04 to 0.63) per 50 mmol/24 h
• A 2026 meta-analysis of 43 randomized trials run from 1983 to 2024 found blood pressure rose step by step across low, moderate and high salt intake groups. — adults in 43 randomized trials, intake categories under 5, 5 to 15 and over 15 g salt a day (n = 43 trials) Evidence A source
  Graded association across intake categories; the abstract gives no single pooled mm Hg figure

Safety, limits and interactions

• The US sodium upper limit is 2,300 mg a day from age 14, 1,900 mg at 4 to 8 years and 2,200 mg at 9 to 13, so one cup of vegetarian gravy covers about a third of the adult limit. — US population by age group, IOM upper intake levels as cited by FDA (n = -) Evidence E source
  UL 2,300 mg/d from 14 years, 1,900 mg/d at 4 to 8, 2,200 mg/d at 9 to 13; 775 mg per cup of gravy is about 34% of 2,300 mg

What people believe that the data does not support

• Adding 3.8 g of MSG to a daily vegetable broth for 4 weeks lowered the desire for savory foods by 7.7 scale units versus a sodium-matched broth. — 58 healthy normal-weight young adults (42 women), mean age 22.7 (n = 58) Evidence B source
  Desire for savory foods -7.7 units (95% CI -13.7 to -1.7), ad libitum intake -36 g (95% CI -91 to 19), umami intensity fell in women only
• In 6 human studies where MSG was eaten with food, headache did not rise apart from women in one study, while 4 of 7 studies without food, often with strong and poorly blinded MSG solutions, found a rise. — human oral MSG challenge studies, 10 papers with 13 studies (n = 13 studies) Evidence C source
  With food: 0 of 6 significant except one female subgroup; without food: 4 of 7 significant, mostly above 2% MSG solutions
• A Cochrane review found only 2 crossover trials in 24 adults with asthma and no difference in lung function drops after MSG versus placebo. — 24 adults with chronic asthma, challenge doses 1 g, 5 g and 25 mg/kg MSG; no trials in children (n = 24) Evidence A source
  No significant difference in FEV1 falls over 15% or 6.8 fl oz (200 mL), symptoms or bronchial hyper-responsiveness

Who this works differently for

• Among healthy Hong Kong adults aged 50 and over, condiments supplied 42.4% of dietary sodium and only 22.8% met the WHO salt limit. — 114 community-dwelling Chinese adults, mean age 60.6, 55% women (n = 114) Evidence C source
  Condiments 42.4%, cereals 16.8%, soups 13.5% of dietary sodium

The bottom line

Gravy is a real sodium source at the table. In 142 adults in Victoria, Australia, gravies and savory sauces supplied 7 percent of dietary sodium, as much as processed meats, and that survey pooled meat and meat-free gravies together. Cutting the salt that goes into home cooking works. Across 13 studies with 3,185 people, programs aimed at cooking salt lowered 24-hour urinary sodium, a large pooled effect (Hedges g -1.06) that the abstract gives without a milligram figure. In a 12-month trial in 1,576 Chinese adults, teaching home cooks to weigh salty condiments lowered urinary sodium by 337 mg a day and systolic pressure by 2.0 mm Hg, with condiments there being mostly soy sauce and salt rather than gravy. The data behind glutamate's bad name is thin. In six studies where MSG was eaten with food, headache did not rise, apart from women in one study, and the studies that did find headache mostly gave strong MSG solutions without food. A Cochrane review found two crossover trials in 24 adults with asthma and no difference in lung function after MSG. That evidence base is very small, it is absence of evidence rather than proof of safety, and no trial included children. In 58 young adults, adding 3.8 g of MSG to a daily broth for 4 weeks lowered the desire for savory foods by 7.7 scale units against a broth with the same sodium, while the drop in how much they then ate had a confidence interval that crossed zero. Children reach their limit sooner. The US sodium upper limit is 1,900 mg a day at 4 to 8 years and 2,200 mg at 9 to 13, and the Institute of Medicine noted it may be lower for older people and for people with high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes. Among Hong Kong adults aged 50 and over, condiments supplied 42.4 percent of dietary sodium and 22.8 percent met the WHO salt limit, an observational snapshot from one 24-hour urine collection. If your doctor has you on a sodium target, gravy belongs on the list of things you measure.

Sources

1. gvg-r6-01 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2707548 Gravy, vegetarian: Sodium 323 mg/100 g, 1 cup 240 g 775.2 mg · Energy 144 kcal/100 g, 1 cup 345.6 kcal · Protein 3.84 g/100 g, 1 cup 9.2 g · Total fat 10.2 g/100 g, 1 cup 24.5 g · Carbohydrate 9.21 g/100 g, 1 cup 22.1 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-29
2. gvg-r6-09 · cross-sectional
   Leading dietary sources of Na were cereal-based mixed dishes (12 %), English muffins, flat/savoury/sweet breads (9 %), regular breads/rolls (9 %), gravies and savoury sauces (7 %) and processed meats (7 %).
   Br J Nutr, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
3. gvg-r6-02 · meta-analysis
   The performed meta-analysis with data from 3185 participants indicated that interventions to reduce salt usage during cooking showed a significant trend towards reducing sodium intake (Hedges' g, -1.06; 95% CI, -1.68 to -0.44; P < .001).
   Nutr Rev, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
4. gvg-r6-03 · cluster RCT
   Compared with the control group, adjusted mixed linear model analysis showed that the 24 hour urinary sodium excretion in the intervention group was reduced by 336.8 (95% confidence interval 127.9 to 545.7) mg per 24 hours (P=0.002); the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced by 2.0 (0.4 to 3.5) (P=0.01) and 1.1 (0.1 to 2.0) mm Hg (P=0.03), respectively
   BMJ, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
5. gvg-r6-04 · meta-analysis
   Each 50 mmol reduction in 24 hour sodium excretion was associated with a 1.10 mm Hg (0.66 to 1.54; P<0.001) reduction in SBP and a 0.33 mm Hg (0.04 to 0.63; P=0.03) reduction in DBP.
   BMJ, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
6. gvg-r6-05 · meta-analysis
   Across 43 randomized controlled trials (1983-2024), higher amounts of salt intake were associated with higher BP, whereas lower intake was associated with larger BP reductions, demonstrating a graded association across intake categories.
   Nutr Rev, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
7. gvg-r6-11 · agency rule
   The ULs for sodium are 2,300 mg/d for all individuals ages 14 years and older, 1,900 mg/d for children 4 to 8 years old, and 2,200 mg/d for adolescents 9 to 13 years old.
   FDA, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, proposed rule, FR Doc. 2014-04387, 2014 · checked 2026-09-29
8. gvg-r6-06 · RCT
   The broth for the treatment group (n = 28) was supplemented with 3.8 g monosodium glutamate (MSG), whereas the control group (n = 30) consumed a sodium-matched broth without MSG. ... The desire for and intake of savory foods decreased after MSG treatment in both sexes with an ad libitum meal (desire: -7.7 units; 95% CI: -13.7, -1.7 units; P = 0.04; intake: -36 g; 95% CI: -91, 19 g; P = 0.04).
   J Nutr, 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
9. gvg-r6-07 · systematic review
   Of five papers including six studies with food, none showed a significant difference in the incidence of headache except for the female group in one study. Of five papers including seven studies without food, four studies showed a significant difference.
   J Headache Pain, 2016 · checked 2026-09-29
10. gvg-r6-08 · Cochrane review
    Only two cross-over studies involving 24 adults met the eligibility criteria; the challenge dosages of MSG were 1 g, 5 g and 25 mg/kg.
    Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2012 · checked 2026-09-29
11. gvg-r6-10 · cross-sectional
    The major food sources of dietary Na intake were condiments (42·4 %), cereals and their products (16·8 %) and soups (13·5 %).
    Public Health Nutr, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29