5 Foods Unexpectedly High in Sodium
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: April 20, 2011

It's a pretty safe bet that those potato chips in your cupboard probably contain a high amount of sodium. There are probably other foods you have that contain large amounts of sodium and you might not suspect these culprits. All information comes from NutritionData.
1. Ketchup: That extra squirt of ketchup on your burger might be a costly one. Just one tablespoon of ketchup actually contains 167 mg of sodium— or 7 percent of your daily requirement. Thankfully, many brands now offer a healthier, low-sodium option if you look for them.

2. Canned Vegetables: The amounts of salt within these products obviously varies enormously by the vegetable and brand, but the numbers are often shocking. One cup of cream-style corn contains 730 mg of sodium— or 30 percent of your daily suggested intake. Always look for the low-sodium options when picking out these products.

3. Canned Pasta Sauce: Just 1/2 a cup of Prego's Organic Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce, or what you'd probably put on one serving of pasta, contains 540 mg of sodium. That's close to 1/4 of what you should be consuming on a daily basis. Just Prego you say? The average for canned pasta sauces was 525 mg per 1/2 cup.

4. Instant Oatmeal: Many breakfast foods contain lots of hidden sodium. A packet of instant oatmeal (maple-flavored) contains 249 mg of sodium, which is 10 percent of your sodium needs right there. If you're like me, two of those packets were breakfast, so that's 20 percent of your needs right there. Raisin bran cereals averaged between 230 and 350 mg per cup.

5. Seasoned Bread Crumbs: You wouldn't think that little bits of bread could contain much salt, but you'd be completely wrong. Just one cup of seasoned bread crumbs contains 2111 mg of salt— nearly 90 percent of your daily sodium needs. In general, customers should avoid prepared or seasoned versions of products. They often contain much more salt than their regular counterparts.

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