Does taste tell you how much salt is hidden in a food? You might be surprised but some foods that don’t taste salty can still be high in sodium. Did you know a bagel has about 600 mg of sodium, and even three slices of cream crackers contain about 200 mg of sodium.
Why is there so much sodium in processed foods?
This is because sodium-containing additives in addition to salt are added to enhance the flavor of foods. If you’re on a journey to cut back your salt intake, avoid food label that contains the sodium-containing additives, such as:
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate)
- Baking powder
- Disodium phosphate
- Sodium alginate
- Sodium citrate
- Sodium nitrite
Decode a food label
Food labels list all the ingredients in the food product in descending order (highest amount to lowest amount). If sodium is listed high up in the list, chances are that the food product contains high amounts of it and hence try to avoid it!
As your eye roves around a food packet, you will probably also come across some form of nutritional information too. This information allows you to compare the nutrients among foods at the point of purchase. It provides information about the nutrient content of a food in per 100g and per serving of the product. To reduce salt intake it is best to stick to a limit of 2,000 mg of sodium (equivalent to 1 teaspoon of salt) daily.