When told by their doctor to limit salt intake, most people probably think of avoiding salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels, or fast food fries. Those who pay attention to things like this might select lower sodium versions of canned soup or soy sauce when grocery shopping. People may remove the salt shaker from the table. While these are important steps, we may be overlooking one of the biggest culprits.
In a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bread and rolls topped the list of sodium sources, accounting for about 7 percent of the salt that the average American eats in a day. It's not that breads and rolls are saltier than many of the other foods, but rather that people tend to eat a lot of them.
Dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, equal to about a teaspoon of salt. Certain people, such as those with high blood pressure, should eat even less. Average sodium consumption in the United States, though, is around 3,300 milligrams and only 1 in 10 Americans actually meet the teaspoon guideline.
For those that are interested, bread and rolls were followed on the top-ten list by: cold cuts and cured meats; pizza; fresh and processed poultry; soups; fast-food hamburgers and sandwiches; cheese; spaghetti and other pasta dishes; meatloaf and other meat dishes; and snacks like potato chips and pretzels.
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