Sodium In Our Foods: The 10 Biggest Sources Of Salt In Our Diets

Americans love their salt, and are eating much more of it than they should be, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that highlights our biggest sources of dietary sodium.

"Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. said in a statement. "These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs."

The report, which included 2007 and 2008 data, shows that there are 10 kinds of food that make up 44 percent of all the sodium we eat each day, with 65 percent of that sodium coming from store-bought foods and 25 percent coming from restaurant foods.

The average person's daily diet includes 3,300 milligrams of sodium, which doesn't even include added salt that you might sprinkle on top of a dish at the table, the report showed. This amount is more than double the recommended sodium intake level for half Americans, including about six in 10 adults; the recommended intake is 2,300 milligrams per day or less of sodium.

People with diabetes, chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure, as well as people age 51 and older and African Americans, are encouraged in the guidelines to take in even less sodium, at 1,500 or fewer milligrams per day, according to the CDC. (Check out these ways to cut extra sodium from your diet.)

Take a look at the top 10 sources of sodium for Americans age 2 and older, from least to most sodium. Are any of these surprising to you? Let us know in the comments.

RATE IT!   |  

VOTE

Not That Surprising

Surprising

CURRENT TOP 5 PICK YOUR OWN TOP 5

USERS WHO VOTED

NEW! CREATE YOUR OWN SLIDESHOW

Comments

[Klad InVermont]

06:44 PM on 02/13/2012

This food list should emphasis "processed foods", because you can make most of these dishes at home and control the amount of sodium that is included.

[starson1]

07:27 AM on 02/12/2012

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/

[Fromageball]

01:14 PM on 02/11/2012

Could this list be any more vague? I mean...what is the definition of a "mixed pasta dish"? "Mixed meat dishes"

"Soups" - do you mean canned soup or homemade soup? Restaurant soup - which could either be essentially canned soup or homemade?

[Roobycube]

08:30 PM on 02/12/2012

My thoughts exactly!

[marinemomof3]

09:53 AM on 02/10/2012

Poultry and Eggs on the list is/was a big tip off that this article is SO O O O WRONG!

The benefits of chicken and eggs FAR out weigh the 'risk'.

[C Sparkman]

09:44 PM on 02/09/2012

Radio-active discount seasalt from Asia, yum!

I prefer my salt mined, evaporated by nature thousands of years ago and protected quite well way down there - that way all the impurites in the ocean don't have to be washed out with chemicals.

[Chockolate]

08:35 PM on 02/09/2012

I didn't know KFC was considered poultry.

[kriket0908]

09:30 AM on 02/10/2012

chicken is KFC's product.. and chicken is poultry...duh......

[marinemomof3]

09:48 AM on 02/10/2012

It is rubber is the point~'flew' over your head I guess :(

[Chockolate]

04:55 PM on 02/10/2012

And i bet you're allowed to vote!

[wcapp]

03:21 PM on 02/09/2012

Remember this info is from 2007 and 08. We have moved on to more sodium if you consider the trends of Asian, Thai, Southwestern, etc. And, if you consider the average American-sized portions, we have really pushed that percentage out of the ball park.

[eLucida]

01:45 PM on 02/09/2012

Some folks are sodium sensitive and need to watch their salt intake.

Most of us do not (but I do prefer to add salt to my own taste).

"A 2011 analysis of randomized clinical trials published in the American Journal of Hypertension explored the link between dietary salt reduction and mortality rates and found “no strong evidence of any effect of salt reduction [on] morbidity… and also showed no strong evidence of benefit.” According to the analysis, “Salt restriction increased the risk of all-cause mortality in those with heart failure.”

Reduced Dietary Salt for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (Cochrane Review)

Rod S. Taylor, Kate E. Ashton, Tiffany Moxham, Lee Hooper and Shah Ebrahim
American Journal of Hypertension 24, 843-853 (August 2011) | doi:10.1038/ajh.2011.115

http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v24/n8/full/ajh2011115a.html

[spl31166]

10:34 AM on 02/09/2012

Being a heart patient, Salt or Sodium plays a major role in my health. Salt intake is directly related to how much water my body retains. Water retention for me, makes it hard to breath, and more work for my heart to function as the pericardium fills with water. You can't tell me that salt doesn't have an effect on your health. Nor has it become the "Scapegoat" of the American diet. Look at how "they" portray red meat and carbohydrates. My medical advisers have never questioned meat as an excellent protein source, nor have they discouraged me from consuming it. Breads on the other hand, if not whole grain, are frowned upon as they have no redeeming properties. Lose the salt. Food manufacturers should simply stop adding it to their products, leaving the salting to the consumer. How hard would that be?

[oceanpine]

10:40 AM on 02/10/2012

White salt should be replaced it with a good sea salt like Real Salt. See Dr David Brownstein's book on salting your way to health. Available on www.amazon.com

[spl31166]

04:42 PM on 02/10/2012

I'll check that out. Thanks for the tip!

[El Verdad]

09:52 AM on 02/09/2012

So, all foods?

[VS HuffPo]

02:54 AM on 02/09/2012

Salt has become a scapegoat of the American diet. Processed foods hurt your health -- not salt. Read the latest research on salt before eating less salt:

http://wellnessandequality.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/sodium-the-scapegoat/

[SisterAnn]

06:05 PM on 02/08/2012

You can save a lot of salt and fats in your foods if you add the butter and salt after it is cooked. Broiled fish is good to add butter and salt after it is done. Adding butter just on the outside makes it taste fried and it doesn't take much to do it.

Some say salt is good for people even with high blood pressure, then they change it back right away and say salt is bad for people.

I have read where salt thins the blood so it helps some people because their heart doesn't work as hard.

I crave salt. In a glass of ice water I squeeze and cut up a whole lemon except the peeling. Then I swish the glass and and shake salt in it until I get it to the taste I like. I love the sour and salty taste. I have been retaining water, even the doctor says so, but I was retaining it before my lemon/icewater/salt triple drink. I don't have thyroid problems which usually makes people crave salt.

[Fromageball]

01:19 PM on 02/11/2012

I find that I add less salt to dishes overall when I add it during cooking.

I had a cocktail at some random bar that sounds like your water, except replace water with vodka - it was very sour(lemon) and then the glass was rimmed with salt. I'm not a big fan of sweet drinks(alcoholic or not) so this was right up my alley.

[SisterAnn]

03:41 PM on 02/11/2012

A 'Salty Dog' is vodka - and lemon then the glass rimmed with salt. I can't remember if it used ice. It is a lot like my mix without alcohol. Now if I drink one sip of a drink, my face swells and I get sleepy and can't hold my head up.

[Smedley Snodgrass]

05:01 PM on 02/08/2012

So you mean those salt packets I like to have for lunch don't have any salt in them? Wow...

[Afterschool Carl]

03:18 PM on 02/08/2012

LOL...this is total bullhockey. There's no way bread is loaded with sodium. I've baked bread and put about 1/8 tsp per loaf.

Typical HP blather.

[superpowerboy]

05:27 PM on 02/08/2012

of course, that's healthy, homemade bread that you baked. Just go to a supermarket and look at the sodium content of mass baked goods, and then consider the amount consumed in a day/week etc.

[fusillijerry]

01:00 AM on 02/09/2012

This article does not say bread is loaded with sodium. It says it makes up seven per cent of our sodium intake. There is of course salt in commercial bread, but the seven percent figure may be a function of quantity of bread consumed.

[Fromageball]

01:21 PM on 02/11/2012

...and what does "makes up 7% of our sodium intake" mean anyway? What are we supposed to do with that information unless you eat all processed foods. Or unless we all eat the same things?

[knowcomment]

02:39 PM on 02/08/2012

So by my count I could eat everything on the slide show and still come up 55.5 percent short on my daily sodium intake. Pass me the salt shaker.