Harmful amounts of sodium can be found in unsalty foods such as breakfast cereal and bagels, according to Consumer Reports magazine.
The group's analysis of 37 food products found a cup of Kellogg's Raisin Bran contains 350 milligrams of sodium, a half-cup of one brand of low-fat cottage cheese had 360 mg, and a Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain White Bagel carried 440 mg.
U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that healthy adults get no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day and to control high blood pressure people should aim for 1,500 mg or less. ~ Reuters, 1 Dec 2008
Well, this is expected. Salt or sodium chloride remains to be one of the best and oldest preservatives available.
And just like in the Chinese melamine scandal case, food manufacturers are more inclined to be business-minded than health-conscious. Thus, their main focus is how to gain more profits for their companies, and not how to provide healthy food items for consumers. But this does not apply to all. There are a few who look after the health implications of what they manufacture. But that's just it. They're few. We're still stuck with those who'd rather ignore the effects of high sodium than suffer a financial business setback.
Oh, well. 'Apologies for the rant.
If you're like me who's concerned about things like this, my tip is to read the food products' nutrition labels first before you put them in your shopping cart. Buy healthy.
