Salt May Be Lurking in Unexpected Places

Do you know where salt is hiding in your food? Even consuming sweet foods and drinks may take your sodium intake to unhealthy levels.
 
Sodium intake is linked with high blood pressure – a contributing factor to many health issues such as stroke and heart disease.  
 
The challenge for most of us lies in the hidden salt that we don’t know we’re ingesting. The average person today ingests about 3,400 mg daily, a whopping 48% above the recommended intake.
 
So how much is 2,300 mg? It may sound like a lot but it’s just one teaspoon.
 
80% of the average American’s salt comes not from our salt shaker, but from the processed and packaged foods we love such as:

• Frozen meals
• Canned or pickled foods
• Packaged snacks
• Deli meat
• Cheese
• Condiments, sauces and dressings
• Breads
• Cereals
• Soda (including diet soda)

 
THE SALTY SIX
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists what it has deemed the “Salty Six” – some of the most popular prepared foods with sodium levels that you should watch out for:

• Breads and rolls – each may have up to 230 mg of sodium
• Pizza – one slice might be up to 760 mg of sodium
• Cold cuts and cured meats – On average, 2 slices of bologna have 578 mg of sodium
• Poultry – 3 ounces of chicken nuggets have nearly 600 mg of sodium
• Canned soups – one cup of chicken noodle commonly has about 940 mg of sodium
• Sandwiches – consider the bread, cured meats, processed cheese and condiments and sandwiches may easily surpass 1,500 mg of sodium

 
Checking labels is the only way to know how much sodium is in your food. If you buy packaged or processed foods, choose foods that are labeled “sodium-free” or “very low sodium.”

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