Consumer Reports Identifies Foods With Surprisingly High Levels...( This time of year when people are tryin...),Health

Date:12/2/2008

"This time of year, when people are trying to watch their calories in between holiday parties, it's important to be vigilant about sodium. 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," says Jamie Hirsh, associate health editor at Consumer Reports. Case in point: A serving of Ruffles Original Potato Chips has 10 grams of fat and 160 mg of sodium while the baked version has 7 fewer grams of fat but 40 mg more sodium.

Adds Hirsh, "On average, Americans consume far more sodium than the recommended daily limit. Unfortunately, cutting back isn't easy because of the high levels of sodium in the many processed and prepared foods that Americans eat on a regular basis." Hirsh notes that a consumer might be getting sodium, even if "sodium chloride" is not listed as an ingredient. Sodium is contained in disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, sodium caseinate, sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium nitrite, and other combinations. Some of those ingredients are flavor enhancers; others are thickeners, preservatives, or texture enhancers.

Surprising Sodium

The Consumer Reports analysis found that sodium lurks in foods that consumers may never think to check:

• Twizzlers Black Licorice Twists. Four strands have 200 mg. Strangely, four strands of Twizzlers Strawberry Licorice only have 115 mg.
• Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Sauce. An American Heart Association logo on the label means that saturated fat and cholesterol are restricted, but not that sodium is super-low. This sauce has 430 mg per half-cup.
• Aunt Jemima Original Pancake and Waffle Mix. Prepared as directed, each pancake has roughly 200 mg of sodium.
• Heart Healthy V8 vegetable juice. Just one cup has
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SOURCE Consumer Reports Copyright©2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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