Salt may be calorie-free, but having too much sodium can increase your risk of developing kidney stones, gastric ulcers or osteoporosis. On average, a person needs around 180-500 mg of sodium each day, while some experts suggest an intake of 1500 mg of sodium per day would be acceptable. Go over that amount and your body may protest. Staying within the recommended dosage of sodium is not as simple as putting the salt shaker away. Sodium is added in many foods during the production process, it helps age the cheese, makes the meat more tender and dough less sticky. So what are the saltiest foods?
Iced Coffee drinks
This may sound surprising, but sodium is often used in restaurant iced coffees as a an emulsifier and for helping to add texture. While your home made glass of iced coffee contains on average 15 mg of sodium, a Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee with Milk has 80 mg of sodium and a McDonalds Caramel Iced Coffee has 115 mg of sodium. This may not seem much, but add them up and you get quite a lot of sodium in your diet, just by drinking something that doesn’t even taste salty.
Tomato sauce
When you’re having a slice of pizza, you’re probably blaming the cheese for the saltiness. But the tomato sauce is just as bad, if not worse, because some people tend to “drown” their foods in it, not recognizing the danger that poses for your health. It’s advisable that you always read the labels when you’re buying tomato sauce and pick the ones with the lowest amount of sodium.
Soft Pretzels
Have you seen that episode of Seinfeld, where Kramer kept rehearsing a line “Boy, these pretzels are making me thirsty”? No wonder, Kramer. One large soft pretzel can contain as high as 2000 mg of sodium, while the average amount is somewhere around 500 milligrams. Not to mention all the carbs you’re getting as well. So perhaps you could replace pretzels with a healthier snack, how about some pumpkin seeds?
