There's Salt Hiding in There!
By Sara Butler
Salt can be lurking in some pretty unexpected places! Sure, you need salt as a part of a healthy diet, but you need it only in moderation. And if you’re keeping track of it on food labels (as you should be), you may be fooled by the different names salt can be listed under, such as disodium phosphate and monosodium glutamate. Here are some foods with some unexpectedly high levels of salt that you may want to steer clear of!
How Much Salt Do You Need?
The healthy range of salt intake per day is between 1500 milligrams of sodium and 2300 milligrams of sodium. That’s between 3.75 grams of salt and 6 grams of salt per day. Most people are actually eating about 3400 milligrams of salt each day, mostly contained in processed foods.
Bagels
Sometimes there’s nothing like a hot, fresh bagel in the morning to start your day right. The problem is that bagels can be loaded with salt. One regular bagel has about 560 milligrams of salt in it. Baked goods tend to be a bit higher simply because they also contain baking powder and baking soda, which are both really high in sodium.
Jarred Spaghetti Sauce
Oh, jarred spaghetti sauce – who would have thought it was so bad since it’s just a bunch of vegetables, right? Nope! Just a half cup of jarred sauce has about 440 milligrams of salt in it. Plus, they often have added sugar to balance out the high amount of salt in it. Consider making your own sauce at home so you can control how much salt and sugar goes into it.
Canned Vegetable Juice
Canned vegetable juice isn’t bad for you when you look at the vitamins and minerals it contains, but if you like to start your day off with a can, you should buy the low sodium kind. Just 8 ounces of canned vegetable juice has 410 milligrams of salt, which make it really high in sodium content and not a great way to start off your day as far as salt intake is concerned!
Corn Flakes
One cup of corn flakes, without milk, has 270 milligrams of salt. So, if you think you’re starting your day off right with a bowl, then you may want to think again. Some cereals can have more salt than tortilla chips! So, make sure you read labels!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.