Bread beats out chips as biggest salt source
By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer February 10, 2012 4:28PM
A customer samples some fresh baked bread at a grocery store in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Nearly all Americans consume much more sodium than they should, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Most of the sodium comes from common restaurant or grocery store items. Some foods that are consumed several times a day, such as bread, add up to a lot of sodium even though each serving is not high in sodium. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
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Updated: March 12, 2012 8:02AM
ATLANTA — Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips.
That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn — which we think of as the saltiest foods in our diet — are only No. 10,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.
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.
Salt is the main source of sodium for most people, and sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Health officials say most Americans get too much salt, mostly from processed and restaurant foods — not added from the salt shaker.
Experts have known that the sodium in breads and certain other foods can add up, but even CDC officials were amazed that just 10 foods are responsible for 44 percent of the sodium consumed.
According to the CDC, breads and rolls account for about 7 percent of the salt that the average American eats in a day. Next on the list: cold cuts and cured meats; pizza; fresh and processed poultry; soups; fast-food hamburgers and sandwiches and cheese. Rounding out the list — and accounting for about 3 percent each — are spaghetti and other pasta dishes; meatloaf and other meat dishes and snacks like potato chips and pretzels.
Dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, equal to about a teaspoon of salt. But average sodium consumption in the U.S. is around 3,300 milligrams, the CDC study found.
For more information, visit CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/VitalSigns/Sodium/
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