When most people think of sodium, they think of regular table salt.  For most Americans, 77% of all sodium intake is NOT from table salt.  Sodium is added to a variety of products by manufacturers, for a multitude of reasons.  Unfortunately, it is sometimes added in great quantities to products you wouldn’t even think of as salty.  As we know, sodium in large amounts is bad for our bodies and leads to high blood pressure and eventually heart ailments.  Maintain a low sodium diet by staying away from processed foods…simple as that.

• Kellog’s Raisin Bran  - 350 mg sodium.  More than twice that of other cereals such as Cheerios or Special K.

Classico Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce – 510 mg sodium.  One serving makes up more than 20% of the recommended daily allowance of sodium.

• Kellog’s Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes - 580 mg sodium.  Add just a little Kellog’s syrup and you are topping out at almost 700 mg sodium in breakfast alone!
• MorningStar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burger – 700 mg sodium.  I thought veggie burgers were healthier?

• Heinz Ketchup – 190 mg sodium.  1 tablespoon is almost 10% of your daily allowance…..1 TABLESPOON.
• Kraft Singles – 277 mg sodium.  A simple grilled cheese can contain almost 1,000 mg of sodium these days.
• Pepperidge Farms Pumpernickel Bread – 190 mg sodium.  Without adding any meat or cheese, an everyday sandwich using this bread contains almost 15% of your daily allowance for sodium.  

• Green Giant Canned Mushrooms – 440 mg sodium.  Most people look at calories and ignore sodium.  One serving contains just 25 calories, but over 20% of you daily sodium intake…and who eats just ONE serving these days?
• Lender’s Whole Grain Plain Bagel – 490 mg sodium.  This bagel has the same sodium content as a Slim Jim.  Who would have thought that?
• DiGiorno for One Pepperoni Thin Crispy Crust Pizza – 1170 mg sodium.  Even the portion controlled pizzas are full of crap.  Half a day’s worth of sodium in this one, small pizza.
• Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice - 1,250 mg sodium.  Even the low sodium varieties from this company contain a third of your daily sodium allowance.      

• Duncan Heinz Moist Deluxe Devil’s Food Cake – 380 mg sodium.  In just 1/12 of a full cake, you will find almost a fifth of your daily allowance.  Most people don’t think of sweet foods being chock full of salt…..a lot of times, they are.
• Campbell’s Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup – 940 mg sodium.  Now most people expect soup to be salty, but this salty?  One entire cup of this soup will provide you with 80% of your daily allowance for sodium.  Unreal.
• Friendship 1% Cottage Cheese - 360 mg sodium.  Cottage cheese is considered a health food.  It’s low calorie and full of protein.  However, it’s also full of sodium.  Greek yogurt is a better choice here.
• Otis Spunkmeyer Harvest Bran Muffin – 420 mg sodium.  Who would have thought 20% of your daily allowance would be found in a harmless muffin?   

• Lean Cuisine Baja-Style Chicken Quesadilla – 690 mg sodium.  Frozen meals are almost always full of sodium.  This particular meal is only 280 calories, so people assume its healthy.  Health cannot only be defined by number of calories in a serving.
• Birds Eye Asian Vegetables in Sesame Ginger Sauce – 630 mg sodium.  The sesame ginger sauce makes this dish sound healthy….its not.  Almost a third of your daily allowance is found in here.  Skip this completely.
• Vlasic Kosher Dill Pickles – 880 mg sodium.  The label claims only 220 mg sodium…..for one-fourth of a pickle!  Who eats only a fourth of a pickle?  Watch out for deceptive advertising.  

• Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup, Roast Chicken Flavor – 790 mg sodium.  One of these servings is pretty eating to eat in one sitting.  To save on the sodium, only use a little bit of the seasoning from the packet inside.
• Lunchables Ham and Swiss With Crackers – 1130 mg sodium.  The holy grail of elementary school lunch rooms everywhere.  These lunch time favorites pack in about 60% of your daily sodium intake.

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Matt

Co-Founder at Share It Fitness

Matt has been involved in the fitness industry for over 10 years and has worked with, and helped countless individuals improve their lives. After college, Matt started his fitness career working in the trenches as a personal trainer for a big corporate gym. It was here he saw how impersonal Big Fitness really was. Clients weren't people, they were just sales waiting to be made. After branching out and starting his own personal training business in San Diego, Matt soon developed the idea of Share It Fitness and started our (now highly successful) blog. A fitness junkie himself, Matt knows the importance of incorporating exercise into your life. When he isn't working at Share It Fitness, you can find Matt running, biking, taking yoga, or pumping iron around San Diego.

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