WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Harmful amounts of sodium can be found in
unsalty foods such as breakfast cereal and bagels, according to Consumer Reports
magazine.
The group's analysis of 37 food products found a cup of Kellogg's Raisin
Bran contains 350 milligrams of sodium, a half-cup of one brand of low-fat
cottage cheese had 360 mg, and a Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain White Bagel carried
440 mg.
U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that healthy adults get no more than
2,300 mg of sodium a day and to control high blood pressure people should aim
for 1,500 mg or less.
Most Americans get far more than that, and mostly not in salt sprinkled
on food but instead in prepared products.
"Our analysis found that lower-fat products might be higher in sodium.
That's in part because when fat is taken out of full-fat foods, sodium is
sometimes used to compensate for flavor," Jamie Hirsh, associate health editor
at Consumer Reports, said in a statement.
Besides sodium chloride -- better known as table salt -- sodium can be
found in food additives such as disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, sodium
caseinate, sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium nitrite.
Prego "Heart Smart Traditional" Italian Sauce contains 430 mg of salt in
a half-cup serving, even if it is low in fat. "Heart Healthy" V8 vegetable juice
has 480 mg in a serving, according to the report released on Monday.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Will Dunham and Sandra Maler)
Keywords: SALT USA/
(Maggie.Fox@Reuters.com; 1 202 898 8492)
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