Too Much Salt? Try Holding the Bread
EmailAmericans trying to cut sodium from their diets may be surprised to learn that bread, not chips or pretzels, is a leading culprit.
A new report from the Center for Disease Control found that bread and rolls are the top source of sodium in America’s diet, more than double the percentage of savory snacks.
“Breads and rolls aren’t really saltier than many of the other foods, but people tend to eat a lot of them,” said Mary Cogswell, a CDC senior scientist who co-authored the report.
Along with bread, the CDC found that just ten food items contributed to 44 percent of the sodium consumed by Americans.
On average, Americans currently consume nearly 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day, almost 1,000 more milligrams than is recommended by the CDC.
The study, which looked at 7,227 Americans, found that bread accounted for more than 7 percent of subjects’ daily sodium intake, followed by cold cuts, pizza, poultry, soups and sandwiches.
Rounding out the top ten were foods such as cheese, pasta dishes, mixed meat dishes (such as meatloaf) and savory snacks, each of which added between 3 to 4 percent of the subjects’ daily sodium consumption.
A diet high in sodium has been linked to hypertension, which can lead to other severe health problems such as heart attack or stroke. At the time of the study, nearly 1/3 of American adults were suffering from hypertension.
“Most Americans, if you just eat the food that’s in front of you, will end up with high blood pressure,” said Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC. “Reducing sodium is one of the most effective, lowest cost, safest ways of doing that.”
The CDC estimates that if Americans lowered their daily sodium intake by 400mg, equivalent to a fraction of a teaspoon, approximately 28,000 lives could be saved and $7 billion saved annually in health care costs.
Keith Ayoob, associate professor of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, says that eating less sodium should be just one factor in leading an overall healthy life.
“I really want the government out of my stomach,” said Ayoob, who recommends low-sodium snacks and an active lifestyle to combat hypertension. “What we ought to be doing is regulating ourselves.”
AP contributed to this report.
Man Discovers He's a Woman at the Hospital 
Head Trauma, Behavior Problems Linked
why do these companies put so much salt in their products? are they that horrible tasting that they need to use that much? I am so glad I cook from scratch!
Posted by: pepper ader | February 8, 2012 February 8, 2012, 8:27 am
Another witch hunt about salt! It is getting redundant, cutting too much sodium will get you weak and sick, even with a healthy person. What about sugar? Breads are loaded with them, since I have discovered sugarless bread (I mean real bread), I have found that all manufactured bread taste like hot dog bread, so much sugar. I have not heard a single CDC person or even a single doctor say online or on TV ‘cut off the sugar’, not a single one. And yet, we are eating load of sugar: look at any packaged food description and see where the sugar is, near the 2-3 top ingredients. After that they blame salt for obesity…
Posted by: Proverb2010 | February 8, 2012 February 8, 2012, 9:25 am
Bread is pretty tasteless without the addition of some salt. But the recipes that I use for my home-baked call for only a teaspoon, or teaspoon and a half per one pound loaf. Which is something like 0.35 grams of salt per slice (assuming 16 slices per pound,) or 350 to 500 mg. Now granted, that’s not a “low sodium” food and if you sit down and eat half a loaf of bread that’s a lot of salt but I don’t know anyone who does that.
Posted by: hawkechik | February 8, 2012 February 8, 2012, 9:53 am
Istead of complaining about these foods, why isn’t the CDC or FDA making the food companies cut back on the salt. After all isn’t it their job to make sure foods are safe?
I for one cannot eat prepackaged foods because they taste waaaayyyyy too salty and I am allergic to all the fake stuff that they add. I can eat the same food if I make it myself without all the chemials so go figure. They do not care about us, just trying to make a buck while killing us.
This bread thing has me worried though. I’m going online right now to find a low sodium bread.
I work a lot so really don’t want to start making bread too.
Posted by: disgusteed | February 8, 2012 February 8, 2012, 12:44 pm
Correction, bread processed to stay ‘fresh’ on shelves for weeks upon weeks is unhealthy for you. The manufacturer puts so much cr*p in the bread that, of course, it’s unhealthy just as is any processed food. Bread is good for you and can be part of your diet if you make it fresh. You can also buy it from a local bakery which makes it fresh everyday and does not use any preservatives in the mix.
Posted by: Iluvdausa | February 8, 2012 February 8, 2012, 1:18 pm