Convenience foods are designed to be quick and easy to transport, store prepare and eat. To do all this, they need stabilizers, preservatives and ingredients to improve taste. And sodium does it all. High amounts of salt, or sodium chloride, are found in processed meats such as bacon, sausage and ham, in canned soups and vegetables, and in many frozen foods. Most restaurant food is also high in sodium.
Sodium performs many essential functions in the body.
But the National Academy of Sciences has established that every person should consume at least 500 mg per day, and that adults should stay within the range of 1,100 to 3,300 mg a day. The American Heart Association recommends that for every 1,000 calories consumed, the sodium intake should be 1,000 mg and should not exceed 3,000 mg per day. The average sodium intake in the United States is between 4,000 and 5,000 mg per day. This is a lot, as one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. Sodium helps cause high blood pressure in some people.