It’s no secret that you need some salt in your diet; it’s also no secret that you likely get too much. But what may be a surprise is where the sodium bombs lie within the nutritional minefield of menu options.
Federal guidelines recommend adults take in no more than 2,300 mg. of sodium per day. For a full half of the population (including African-Americans, people over the age of 51, and those with high blood pressure and other chronic conditions), the recommendation drops to 1,500 mg.
But Americans are taking in a staggering 3,400 mg. of salt a day.
And while the impulse may be to blame fast-food chains, with their shameless gut-busting appeals and towering burger options (Hardee’s’ 2/3-pound Monster Thickburger clocks in at 2,860 mg.—monstrous, indeed), you can consume the same amount with a sit-down restaurant’s lowly appetizer.
We’ve collected 10 menu options from popular restaurants that deliver an entire day’s worth of sodium in one dish—without your likely even knowing it.
(Photo: Pascal Preti/Getty Images)
