Many people with high blood pressure or cardiovascular health issues struggle to reduce the amount of sodium that they consume each day. Sodium is such a common additive in our foods that it can be very challenging to reduce your intake. But sodium content can vary wildly from one type of food to another. In fact, according to the CDC, ten categories of food accounts for nearly 40% of the sodium consumed by Americans.
At the top of the list were deli meat sandwiches and canned soups. But the others were less obvious and included canned vegetables, bread, other baked goods like cookies, pastas and fast food of all sorts. Notice that things you might have suspected of being high sodium, like potato ships, did not make the list. This does not mean they are good for you, only that they are not as salty as they taste. Taste, in fact, is a terrible guide to picking lower sodium foods. Instead, read the nutrition labels.
Rinsing canned foods under water when possible can reduce sodium content by 40% or more, and foods rich in potassium - avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas - can help offset the effects of the sodium you do eat on you your blood pressure.
Nine out of ten Americans still eat too much salt, 50% more than recommended on average. The illnesses abetted by this kill 800,000 of us annually and cost the economy $273 billion in annual health care costs.
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