More Salt Is In More Foods Than Expected
A new study to be published in January’s issue of Consumer Reports shows that many more foods have a surprising amount of sodium, or salt, making it difficult to cut back salt in the diet.
Our recommended daily intake of salt is 2300 milligrams, about a teaspoon, and it’s even lower for people with hypertension, but most of us eat at least double that.
In analyzing 37 food products, the study noticed that even a cup of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran has 350 milligrams of sodium, a half-cup of one brand of low-fat cottage cheese has 36 milligrams, and a Pepperidge Farms bagel contained 440 milligrams. The report notes that sodium may be higher in lower fat foods because it is substituted for the fat to replace the flavour.
The study’s results show that a 50 percent reduction in salt intake, as recommended by the American Medical Association, may be harder achieve than it is hoped, especially due to the high number of processed foods eaten by Americans.