Halt The Salt: Labels

By The Doctors Staff on 5:00 AM PST, January 9, 2011


I pledge to compare nutrition facts labels and choose lower-sodium items

Halt the Salt:
Quick Label Reference

Here are some examples of common foods you buy. As a quick guide, when you chose these foods, look for sodium at or below these levels.
Be sure to check the serving size, number of servings per container and think about how much you plan to consume.

Aim for:
• Bread (one slice): 180 mg
• Breakfast Cereal: 215 mg
• Salad Dressing: 290 mg • Canned Soup: 480 mg
• F rozen Pizza / Prepared Meals: 600 to 800 mg

Salt Facts: • Most people should eat no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day, and yet most Americans consume 3,466 mg daily. • Eighty percent of the salt we eat is already in food when we buy it from stores and restaurants. • Salty foods don't always taste salty; you have to read the label to find out how much sodium a product contains. • Processed foods marketed as "healthy" may have a lot of sodium, or even more sodium than the traditional label. Instead, look for "Low Sodium" or "No Salt Added" versions.

Decoding The Label:
The sodium in foods can vary greatly, even between two brands of the same product! For example, on your grocery store shelf, you may find soups with sodium ranging from 280 mg to 980 mg per serving. And while 480 mg of sodium per serving may a better choice for soup, that's way too much sodium for a serving of bread.

• Pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears peruses the grocery store aisles and explains how much sodium should be in a single serving of food.