Hidden Salt

The time for lunch arrived and so I heated up an entrée: Blackened Chicken Alfredo, New Orleans style. Or as I call it: flavored salt. The little plastic dish contained mostly penne pasta with cheese sauce and a few small lumps of chicken. And, of course, salt – 1000 milligrams of salt. Had I read the nutrition label before I purchased it, I would have returned it to the freezer and bought something else.

Doctors recommend that people limit their sodium intake to 2300 mg per day, and people 50 and older should consume no more than 1500 mg per day. This isn’t because doctors are mean and don’t want us to enjoy our food. It’s because eating too much salt can elevate blood pressure, and high blood pressure over time can do bad things to the body, such as cause heart disease.

The average American consumes 3400 mg of salt every day. Most of the salt in our diet comes from packaged and processed foods, not the salt shaker. The problem is not an occasional salty meal. The problem is the overdose of salt we get routinely, day in and day out, every day of the year, year after year. So what can we do about it? How can we eat less salt?

The foods below have been called the Salty Six:

Cold cuts and cured meats – deli or pre-packaged turkey can have over 1000 milligrams of sodium per serving. Look for lower sodium varieties.

Pizza – one slice may have up to 760 mg of sodium. Have vegetables or a salad with your pizza rather eating more pizza.

Soup – look at the nutrition label on a can of soup. Most cans contain “2 servings” so if you plan to eat a can of soup you can double the sodium on the label. Make homemade soup instead.

Breads and rolls – bread may not taste salty, but one slice can have 230 mg. Avoid eating bread at every meal.

Chicken – frozen and breaded chicken nuggets have a lot of added salt, and even fresh poultry often is injected with sodium solutions. Check the label.

Burritos and Tacos – most of the salt is in the taco seasoning, so make your own. Combine 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, oregano, chili powder, and garlic powder and you’ll have a tenth the sodium of the packaged seasoning.

Also worth a look is this list of common packaged foods that are loaded with sodium. There are some surprises on the list.

According to the American Heart Association, if the US population moved to an average intake of 1500 mg per day of sodium, it could result in an estimated $26.2 billion in health care savings and reduce deaths from heart disease by anywhere from 500,000 to 1.2 million over the next 10 years.

Salt makes food tastier plus it’s essential for life. But a little goes a long way. We have many choices at the grocery store. If we choose to eat wisely, in the long run we’ll be healthier, live longer, and save money.