Bragg Liquid Aminos is marketed as a healthy substitute for soy sauce. Should you switch?

Bragg Liquid Aminos, according to www.bragg.com, “has a small amount of naturally occurring sodium. No table salt is added.”

When nutritional labels are analyzed, it turns out Bragg doesn’t have much less sodium than soy sauce.

It’s the serving sizes listed on the bottle that are different. Bragg uses half a teaspoon, and soy sauces use a tablespoon. On first glance, sodium content appears lower for Bragg.

“One tablespoon of regular soy sauce contains almost a half of a day’s worth of sodium, and low sodium soy sauce contains a quarter of a day’s worth,” said Annie Williamson, a registered dietitian with Bend Memorial Clinic. “Same would be true for the liquid aminos. Both can be difficult to work into your diet if you are trying to limit your sodium intake.”

Neither Bragg Liquid Aminos nor soy sauce have much in the way of calories. Neither has fat or cholesterol. Bragg has a few milligrams less of sodium content. The company website says its salty taste comes from the soybeans themselves. The soybeans are also the source of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, according to the company.

“I don’t think that there is really any benefit to the liquid aminos,” said Williamson, despite the eight essential and eight nonessential amino acids it contains. “The nonessentials do not need to be supplemented in our diet because our bodies make them naturally,” she said, and “the essential amino acids do need to be supplied by food. However, these amino acids are found in foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds and whole grains. On average, Americans consume sufficient amounts of these foods, making it unnecessary to supplement.”

— Anne Aurand, The Bulletin