12 Shockingly Salty Foods to Avoid

Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Salt is so in right now -- as in, in everything you eat. As any healthcare professional will tell you, our sodium intake is out of control. Both the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that Americans are swilling as much as 3,600mg of the stuff a day -- more than double the recommended intake of 1,500mg max. We all might as well be walking around with our own personal salt licks. And surprise, surprise: all that salt is not doing your looks any favors.

Besides contributing to heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity, to name a few, OD-ing on salt dehydrates skin, which means more wrinkles, puffy eyes and dark circles. It also can make you bloated, which -- we don't have to tell you -- will not help you squeeze into those skinny jeans.

Cutting back on your salt intake isn't as easy as putting down the salt shaker, or avoiding the obvious culprits, like pretzels and chips. Salt is sneakier than you'd think, and it's hiding in many of the foods you'd least expect (grilled chicken, anyone?). To shrink your salt consumption, as well as the bags under your eyes, steer clear of these surprising sodium traps.

Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

California Roll

The damage: 450mg in 3 pieces

Compared to: 2 ½ bags of Lay's Potato chips: 450mg

With all those omega-3s, sushi falls under the healthy column ... if you stick to sashimi and forgo soy sauce. One ounce of imitation crab, the bread and butter of popular California rolls, packs a whopping 238mg. Factor in the salted seaweed wrap and the fact that 1 tablespoon of soy sauce clocks in at 1,000 mg of sodium and you're close to going over your daily sodium intake before you even eat an entire roll.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Bagels

The damage: 490mg per bagel

Compared to: 1 order of nachos at Taco Bell: 470mg

Bagels might be on your "do not eat" list because of the refined carbs (which your body processes as pure sugar), but they're sodium villains as well. According to a report from the CDC, bread and rolls are actually the number-one source of sodium in the American diet while more obvious offenders like chips and pretzels actually come in tenth on the list.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Cottage Cheese

The damage: 360 mg in a 1/2 cup

Compared to: 4 Chicken McNuggets: 360mg

Just when you thought cottage cheese was on your side this whole time. Dieters in search of muscle-building protein are better off with Greek yogurt, which has less than 100 mg of salt for the same serving size, and almost double the protein.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods


Bloody Mary

The damage: 461 mg in 10 fluid ounces ... and that's just the mix

Compared to: 20 Ritz crackers: 420 mg

You may think this boozy brunch punch is your saving grace after a night out, but its high salt content will dehydrate you more than it will revive you. Don't let the celery stalk distract you. A few shakes of Tabasco, which has 179 mg in 1 ounce, can mean you're downing 640mg of sodium before you even dig into your eggs benedict.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods


Cheese

The damage: 368mg per slice of American cheese or 428mg in 1 ounce of grated parmesan

Compared to: 2 bags of BBQ potato chips: 426mg

Don't worry: We would never suggest you give up cheese for good. Instead, try switching types. One slice of mozzarella has half the sodium of parmesan, and adds a similar Italian flair to your pasta.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Pickles

The damage: 880 mg per whole dill pickle

Compared to: 1 Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger: 870mg

Read your labels closely. Sure, a single serving of pickles might only contain 220mg of salt, but when was the last time you ate a quarter of a pickle? Eat the whole thing and you've devoured more than half a day's worth of sodium. We don't even want to think about what happened to our editor when she drank an entire jar of pickle juice to test out hangover cures.

Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods


Campbell's Chicken Soup

The damage: 890mg per cup

Compared to: 1 Ramen Noodle packet: 750-950 mg

Mmm, mmm, good -- and oh so salty. Just one cup will cost you nearly 75 percent of your daily sodium intake -- and one 8-ounce cup of soup has filled no one up ever.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Marinara Sauce

The damage: 642 mg for a 1/2 cup

Compared to: 1 slice of pepperoni pizza: 610 mg

Pasta gets all the blame for its high-carb content, but your sauce is the one sabotaging your diet by piling on the sodium. Try pureeing your own tomatoes and adding fresh herbs and spices next time you whip up spaghetti.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

A Bowl of Raisin Bran

The damage: 294mg (230 mg per cup + 64mg in 1/2 cup skim milk)

Compared to: 1 bag of Crunchy Cheetos: 250mg

Raisin Bran can be your friend if you're lacking in fiber, but the high sodium content may not be worth it. Try other breakfast cereals like Kashi GoLean, which has only 85mg of sodium.

Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Veggie Burgers

The damage: 400 mg per patty

Compared to: 1 oz of pretzels: 390mg

Gardenbuger's Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger, Amy's All American Veggie Burger and Boca's All American Flame Grilled Burger each has roughly 400 mg of sodium per patty. And you always wondered how something that isn't meat could be so tasty ... all you have to do is check the sodium content for your answer. Add a bun (206 mg), slice of cheese (368 mg) and a packet of mustard (57 mg) and you're downing over 1,000 mg of sodium.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods

Ketchup

The damage: 380 mg in 2 Tbsp

Compared to: 1 serving of Wendy's Small French Fries: 330 mg

Still think your fries aren't salty enough? Maybe it's a good thing those annoying little ketchup packets are so hard to open.


Shockingly Salty Foods
Shockingly Salty Foods


Chicken

The damage: Up to 440 mg of sodium in a 4-ounce serving

Compared to: 2 bags of Doritos: 420mg

This is probably the sneakiest source of sodium of all. Even though it's labeled "natural," a lot of the raw chicken you buy at the grocery store is plumped up with a sodium solution that makes the meat juicier -- and heavier, so you pay more. Double-check the labels -- a truly natural chicken won't have a sodium content higher than around 70 mg per serving.

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