These foods may be dubbed as healthy eats but they are sky-high in sodium!
Although salt containing iodine is beneficial to your overall health in moderation, too much salt can wreak havoc on the body, inside and out. Excess sodium can put you at risk for heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke, stomach cancer, kidney disease, and many other ailments. The extra salt can cause water retention, which can manifest physically as bloating, weight gain, or general puffiness. One serving of regular potato chips (usually no more than 20 chips) has about 147mg of sodium. The CDC reports that the Institute of Medicine recommends no more than 1500mg of sodium a day. But most Americans have difficulty staying beneath the recommended numbers. One of the contributing factors at play is hidden sodium in supposedly healthy foods.
Read on to discover 10 “health” foods that contain more sodium than a bag of chips.
Bragg Liquid Aminos
This is a great product to have around, especially for vegetarians. But go easy on it! There are 160mg of salt in just ½ teaspoon – 13mg more per serving of sodium than chips.
Olives
Though olives are crammed with lots of disease-fighting goodness, just 10 small olives weigh in with 240mg of sodium. That’s 93mg more than a serving of potato chips.
Kashi Thin Crust Four Cheese Pizza
Kashi’s pizzas might be handy when you’re on the go, but a single serving of Kashi Thin Crust Four Cheese Pizza will cost you 610mg of sodium – 463mg more sodium than a serving of chips.
Clif Bar
A Chocolate Brownie Clif bar weighs in with slightly more salt than a regular serving of potato chips. At 160mg of sodium per serving, this health food will leave you with 13mg more of sodium than a serving of potato chips.
Arnold Double Protein Bread
Bread contains a surprising amount of salt. Arnold Double Protein Bread, for example, contains 210mg of sodium per serving. That’s 63 mg more than potato chips!
V8 Juice
As nice as a vegetable juice might sound, a single serving of V8 juice carries 480mg of sodium. You could have over three servings of potato chips for that amount!
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese might seem like a healthy option, but the average amount of sodium in a ½ cup serving is around 400mg. That is 253 mg more of sodium than potato chips.
Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette
As a rule of thumb, keep a careful eye on the sodium levels in salad dressings. Even Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette contains 290mg of sodium per 2 Tbsp serving. That’s like dumping nearly two servings of potato chips into your salad!
Tomato Sauce
Look out for sodium in tomato sauces. Even organic Muir Glen tomato sauce contains 260mg of sodium per ¼ cup serving. That’s 113mg more than a serving of potato chips!
Annie’s Creamy Deluxe Macaroni Dinner
One of the reasons why we have a difficult time avoiding excess salt is because it just tastes good. A single serving of Annie’s Creamy Deluxe Macaroni Dinner may taste good, but it has a whopping 760mg of sodium. The pasta might be organic, but sodium is sodium. That’s a full 613mg more per serving of sodium than potato chips.