Is Salt Lurking In Your Food?

We all know that salt is a killer. It might make your foods taste a little spicier, but the risk is not worth the reward.

Salt is a mineral made up of chloride and sodium. You only need about 500 milligrams of salt per day to meet your needs, but most of us consume about 4,000 milligrams per day. This is a stroke or heart attack waiting to happen.

Only 10% of sodium in our diets comes from the saltshaker. The rest comes from preserved, processed or prepared foods – and many of these foods are ones that you would not suspect.The following is a list of common foods, and the amount of sodium in milligrams that is found in each food….

Fast food Onion Rings – 1 serving……800

Fast food Breakfast Biscuit…1,470

Fast food Roast Beef Sandwich…792

Fresh peach…0

1 slice peach pie…153

1 cup canned peaches…16

Fresh apple…0

1 slice apple pie…444

1 ear of corn (cooked)…3

1 cup creamed corn…572

1 small baked potato…20

1/2 cup cooked carrots…50

3 oz. cooked roast beef…53

1 hot dog (large)…638

3 oz. cooked chicken…50

3 oz. chipped beef…2,953

Chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding TV dinner…1,820

1 cup turkey stuffing…1,000

Cola – 12 oz. can…50

Dill Pickle (large)…1,000

Remember, that anything “cured” or “pickled” will be loaded with sodium, so you should avoid these. Restaurant and canned soups are generally high in sodium, so skip the soup and eat fresh veggies with your sandwich instead.Anything fresh is better than canned, and cold cuts are generally packed with sodium.

These are just a few of the foods that you may eat often that contain sodium. You can check this out on your own by reading the food labels when you shop for groceries. Avoiding fast food and restaurant food is a good choice as well.

Visit your farmers’ markets during the summer and re-learn what true freshness without salt tastes like!