Three More Food Groups That Are High In Sodium, And A Caveat About Sodium Restriction

Soup, fast foods, and pizza, however, are not the saltiest foods in the everyday American diet.

4. Cold cuts and cured meats.

Americans are crazy about bacon. They also eat their share of sausage and ham, as well as cured deli meats such as mortadella, salami, bologna, and the delicious Italian "bacon" known as prosciutto.

The curing process relies on salt to kill bacteria. You simply can't have cured meats without high sodium. You can have cured meats without nitrates, however, at least limiting the damage to your health.

5. Bread and rolls.

Bread and rolls are always made with salt. A single slice of bread or a small dinner roll won't do you a lot of harm. The problem is, most people don't stop with a single slice of bread. They are much more likely to eat the whole loaf.

The highest levels of sodium in baked goods, however, are found in unleavened products that depend on baking soda to make them rise. Irish soda bread, snack crackers, American-style biscuits, and bread crumbs (because dehydration concentrates the sodium content) are highest in sodium. Mazo crackers and tortilla chips--without the salsa or dip--are lowest.

6. Poultry products.

Chicken is typically brined, or soaked in salt water, to make it plumper and juicier as it cooks. This process adds 500 to 600 mg of sodium to the 40 to 50 mg of sodium that occurs naturally in each serving. Turkey ham and turkey bacon, of course, are even higher in sodium. Three slices of turkey bacon usually contains half of a day's supply of sodium.

The solution to the problem of high sodium levels in poultry is to slow-roast your own poultry at home, skipping the brining step. What you lose in succulence you can gain in herbal flavors steeped into the meat as you cook the bird for several hours.

But will cutting out the sodium from your diet really make a difference?

• If you are person of African heritage, it usually will. Particularly when people of African origins fail to consume potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, at least five servings a day, blood pressure tends to be higher.
• If you have kidney disease, eliminating sodium from your diet will make a difference, too. Sodium can enhance kidney inflammation caused by other diseases.
• However, if you have a European, Asian, Middle Eastern, or Hispanic heritage, chances are that reducing sodium intake will benefit your cardiovascular health only if you are overweight. This is probably due to the fact that people who are overweight suffer various forms of inflammation. 

Always follow your doctor's advice. But if your doctor gives you options, don't make sodium restriction your first priority. Instead, focus on making sure you get your five to nine fruits and vegetables per day to get the potassium your body needs. Then avoid indulging in these six foods on a daily basis, especially when you have been gaining weight.