Given the spattering of salt tossed on bags of potato chips it’s easy to assume that the bulk of sodium in our diets would come from that specific snack, however a recent stud by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that potato chips when combined with other salty snacks barely makes the top 10. According to the agency our biggest salt foe is actually bread.
The agency has found that 7% of the salt the average American eats each day comes from bread. The agency also discovered that while 2,300 milligrams of sodium are recommended for daily consumption we tend to consume around 3,300 milligrams.
The co-author of the research project says it’s not that we consume bread with massive amounts of sodium but rather that we consume a lot of bread on average which quickly adds up to increase our daily salt intake from that particular food.
Along with its finding about bread consumption and sodium intake the agency also discovered that the top 10 types of food we consume each day makes up 44% of our overall sodium intake. Here’s that top 10 list in order of sodium levels following bread:
- cold cuts and cured meats
- pizza
- fresh and processed poultry
- soups
- fast-food hamburgers and sandwiches
- cheese
- spaghetti and other pasta dishes
- meatloaf and other meat dishes
- snacks like potato chips and pretzels
Are you surprised that it’s not necessarily the junk food that people consume that is leading to the highest level of sodium intake but rather our regular everyday meals?
I didn't think I had to worry about sodium because I don't have high blood pressure, but it looks like I was wrong: http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/salt-ok-if-blood-pressure-is-ok/.