Sea Salt vs Table Salt
Question: What’s the difference between sea salt and regular salt?
Answer: Not much… other than taste and texture. They both contain about 40% sodium or about 2,300mg per teaspoon. The biggest difference, because sea salt is coarser than table salt, people generally use a little less.
I eat healthy foods, why worry?
Question: I eat healthy foods… do I still need to watch the salt?
Answer: Absolutely! Eating healthy doesn’t automatically guarantee low sodium levels. For example, a healthy garden salad topped with a low-fat salad dressing might contain over 1,000mg of sodium, nearly half the recommended daily salt intake of 2,400mg. Plus, the sodium content can vary significantly between different brands of the same type of product.
Other examples and the average range of sodium within brands:
- 1 slice or piece of bread (146mg – 385mg)
- 2 oz luncheon meat (500mg – 986mg)
- 1/4 of a 12″ pizza (cheese, thin and thick crust) (680mg – 1,192mg)
- 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, fresh (40mg – 230mg)
- 3 oz chicken strips, breaded (430mg – 900mg)
- 3 oz chicken nuggets, breaded, frozen (200mg – 570mg)
- 1 cup chicken noodle soup, canned (350mg – 940mg)
- 1 cheeseburger, fast food restaurant (710mg – over 2,000mg)*
- 1 oz slice American cheese (330mg – 460mg)
- 1 cup canned pasta with meat sauce (530mg – 980mg)
- 5 oz pork with barbecue sauce (600mg – 1,120mg)
- 1 oz potato chips, plain (150mg – over 200mg)
*NOTE: An average fast food hamburger patty has 378mg sodium, a slice of cheese 200-300mg, bun adds 200mg, condiments anywhere from 60mg to several hundred, pickles 50-100mg for each slice, and if you add bacon, another 500-600mg.
I don’t use the saltshaker
Question: I don’t use the saltshaker, isn’t that enough to lower my sodium intake?
Answer: The saltshaker only contributes about 10% of our daily sodium total. The vast majority comes from processed foods. If you eat a sandwich, you’re consuming 40-60% of your daily sodium allotment. You’d be surprised at how much is in some of the foods we eat. Take the quiz and find out if you are salt savvy.
Salt or Sodium?
Question: What’s the difference between salt and sodium?
Answer: Salt is composed of sodium (40″%) and chloride (60%). One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 mg of sodium. Although they are different the words are often used in place of each other.
What Foods Are High in Sodium?
Question: What foods have the most sodium?
Answer: According to the CDC, 40% of sodium comes from 10 types of foods:
- Breads and rolls
- Cold cuts and cured meats, such as deli or packaged ham or turkey
- Pizza
- Fresh and processed poultry
- Soups
- Sandwiches, such as cheeseburgers
- Cheese
- Pasta dishes
- Meat-mixed dishes, such as meatloaf with tomato sauce
- Snacks, such as chips, pretzels and popcorn
See Tips to Reducing Salt for additional foods to avoid.
Where do I start to reduce salt?
Question: Where do I start to reduce salt in my diet?
Answer: To start:
Check Your Pantry
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- Begin by examining the sodium content of each item in your pantry. Be sure to check the % Daily Value on the nutrition label:
- 5% or less is considered low sodium (choose more of these items).
- 20% or more is considered high sodium (use less of these).
- For higher salt items, find low-sodium alternatives:
- Refer to our lists of brand-name foods with less than 35mg of sodium to replace the higher sodium items.
- Begin by examining the sodium content of each item in your pantry. Be sure to check the % Daily Value on the nutrition label:
Explore Additional Tips
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- Visit our Helpful Info section for more strategies on reducing salt:
- Tips to Reducing Salt – advice on how to reduce salt at home and at the supermarket
- Dining Out Tips – find out which items are high in sodium and those that are low and other suggestions to keep salt at a minimum
- Visit our Helpful Info section for more strategies on reducing salt:
By following these steps, you can effectively start reducing your sodium intake and make healthier food choices.