How much sodium is in?

Sodium, the element from group 1 of the periodic table with atomic number 11- that’s Na for you chemists out there. Sodium is an essential component required by our bodies to maintain fluid balance, nerve and muscle function, but it’s also known to cause hypertension if consumed in excess. So how much sodium is hiding in your favorite foods? Let’s explore!

Fast Food

Fast food may come cheap and quick, but what does your body pay for it?

Burgers

• Double cheeseburger – 1000 milligrams
• Flame-grilled chicken burger – 720 milligrams
• Veggie burger (don’t worry we won’t judge) – 810 milligrams

Fried Food

Fried anything may be delicious, but at a cost.

• French Fries – 350-650 milligrams per serving!
• Fried chicken sandwich (960 mg) or better yet get grilled ones containing only about half the amount (490 mg).

It seems like fast food really lives up to its name when it comes down to high levels of sodium content. Who knew those golden fries had so many precious atoms?

Sandwiches

If you love Bread and filling creations then check this out!

Deli Meat & Cheeses

Say Cheese! Wait…what?! Maybe skip that step!

• Cold cut trio sub can pack almost your entire day’s worth with 1990 (!!!!!!)mg of Sodium!
• Classic turkey & cheddar on wheat caps off at roughly 1274 mg– still quite high.
  Looks like skipping a meaty protein-protein source would mean significantly less NaCl.

#### Dipping Sauces

We know there are some condiment enthusiasts out there who believe “everything tastes better with sauce” Well…think again because it just means MORE SODIUM!!!

• Ketchup – 167mg in a tablespoon. That’s not that bad, right?!
• Ranch being almost 200 if you coat your veggies and wings the American way– so let’s hope for some self-restraint!

Soups

Soup weather!

Canned

Looking for something warm, cozy yet tasty?

• Campbell’s classic chicken noodle – has about 890mg
• Campbell’s cream of mushroom packs whopping 870mg sodium Load.

Although it may sound like soup is packed full of this element essential to keep our body functioning properly, there are tons of low-sodium options out there! The research begins!

Snacks

Craving some salty snacks? Be careful because you might be sipping on a saline solution too!!

Chips –

Chips & crisps lovers rejoice or weep after reading this!! Jk but please don’t actually cry over chips (or crisps)

|Product Name |Serving Size |Sodium|
|—|–:|–:|
|Ruffles Original Potato Chips (28g) |11% |
%M_(49.5)_Cl(50.5)|Doritos Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips (31g) |10% |
%C_6H_7O_2COONa·3H_2O + Na Cl; Na HCO3; MgSO4·7 H2O ; CaSO4||SunChips Harvest Cheddar Multigrain Snacks 1 oz bag / approx. 12 chips(-ish)|8%

Who knew that cheap bag of junk food would consist primarily of Sodium chloride?!

### Desserts
Forget about clean eating and let yourself indulge guilt-free.

#### Pastries

Time to give into temptation ya’ll!

• Cinnamon rolls – Almost as much salt as sweetness packed inside at over 600mg sodium!
• Donut bun steadies itself at around: 330mg on average.

It seems like salt sneaks its way into all sorts of foods, even those we associate with being sweet!

In conclusion

We hope that by shedding light on the Sodium content in everyday foods it encourages you to make more conscious decisions for your health. Remember this when next hitting up the grocery store or ordering food— your body will thank you! Who knew good ol’ table salt could be hiding in plain sight? It’s time to get salty but also smart and responsible about it too.

Life is short, eat well and stay healthy!!

• https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar