Salt Harms Your Heart. And Sneaky Sources of Sodium.

photo by daniel y. go

Nobody hates the taste of salt. Nobody. Even to people (like me) who crave sugary snacks over salty, the teensy grains still matter. (Hello, sea salt–topped chocolate. To. Die. For.) And since the affects of salt are understated—that is, you won’t see a hunk of fat firmly on your hips soon after downing Campbell’s soup—the stuff doesn’t seem as sinister as ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, or lard. But it is.

In a review of 13 studies, researchers analyzed data on more than 170,000 people and found a scarily strong link between too much sodium and cardiovascular disease and stroke. As in eating just 5 extra grams of salt (about a teaspoon) daily upped the stroke rate by 23 percent. As in that same 5 grams of salt increased the cardiovascular disease rate by 17 percent.

The researchers say cutting 5 grams of salt daily around the world could prevent more than a million strokes and 3 million cardiovascular disease deaths per year. Yikes.

The USDA dietary guidelines for Americans recommends people eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (1 teaspoon of salt) each day. But most Americans get closer to 10 or more grams. You’re wondering why everyone doesn’t just throw away their salt shaker and be done with the whole thing, aren’t you? Well, most people don’t just get salt from the shaker; it’s found in just about everything you eat. (And even some stuff you drink like V8 juice, which has 481 milligrams in 8 ounces.)

For starters, avoid putting salt on everything you eat. Instead, experiment with herbs and spices that can flavor bland dishes without putting you in cardiac arrest. Just sayin’.

Next, try to limit your weekly intake of obviously salty foods. Canned soup can contain close to 1,000 milligrams of sodium. A slice of Papa John’s cheese pizza has 527 milligrams. Soy sauce has 1,000 milligrams per tablespoon. The American version of Mexican and Chinese cuisine is heavy on the salt, too.

Finally, and here’s the hard part, become aware of the amount of sodium in those deceptive foods that don’t even taste salty. Food manufacturers inject salt into just about anything because, as you probably know, it makes stuff taste good. To learn how much salt you’re getting (a lot) in sneaky foods, read on.

Breakfast
Two Kellogg’s Eggo Homestyle Waffles contain 430 mg. And that’s not counting the syrup.
A pack of Quaker instant Cinnamon and Spice oatmeal has 246 mg. Cut most of that out by using homemade oats.
One oat bran bagel has 289 mg. Without cream cheese. Or lox, which has—gasp!—1,700 mg in 3 ounces.

Lunch
Four slices of turkey from the deli can have close to 600 mg.
A slice of American cheese can have 280 mg or more. Put ’em together, add bread, and your sandwich just hit 1,140 mg.

Dinner
Some brands of spaghetti sauce have more than 1,000 mg per cup.
A half cup of canned peas contains 310 mg. Anything canned is loaded with sodium. Go for fresh or frozen instead.
A cup of canned baked beans without bacon has 871 mg. With bacon? It’s up to 1,047 mg.

Drinks
A grande Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino has 280 mg.
A large carrot juice from Jamba Juice has 245 mg.

Dessert
A Dairy Queen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard has 469 mg. I’ll spare you the calorie count.
A super-sweet Milky Way bar has close to 100 mg.
So, do you eat salt with every dish? Do you generally eat salty foods. And do you usually consider sneaky sources of salt?