Salt

Salt is one of those sneaky ingredients that you find almost everywhere. The reason why it's so sneaky is because food doesn't have to taste salty to have a lot of salt in it. For instance, a 6 inch tuna melt sandwich has up to 1,000mg of sodium. That's almost 3/4 a tablespoon of salt! The maximum daily amount of salt should be 1 teaspoon a day. That's right, the one tuna melt sandwich exceeds your daily maximum amount of salt for the day.

How can you keep up with following your salt intake all day without getting burnt out? There's got to be an easier way!

Lucky for you, there are 10 foods that 40% of the salt you consume come from. This makes it easier to watch

chips

crackers

pizza

cold cuts

cured meats

soup

breads

rolls

cheese

eggs

If salt is so bad for you, then why is it everywhere in foods? Well, it tastes amazing, that's why! It can also alter the tastes of other flavors such as suppressing bitterness. (you can put salt in your coffee and give this one a try). It also balances out sweet and sour flavors, ever wonder why you love sweet and salty mixes? That's why!

Also, salt is a preservative and keeps food fresher for longer. A big reason why canned foods have a ton of salt!

Salt doesn't have any calories, so why do we care so much about it?

Alters Taste Buds

The more salt you eat, the more you crave it. The worst part is that a lot of the times you don't even know you're eating salt and you wonder why you're craving certain foods. Once you start to taper salt from your diet, you realize that a lot of processed foods taste a little "too" salty.

Water Retention

Salt can cause you to bloat by retaining water. This extra water usually sits around your stomach area and makes you look "round." This water weight also affects the scale and makes you heavier. Keep in mind, one standard sized 16.9 flu oz water bottle is equal to 1 pound.

Increases Blood Pressure

Can increase your blood pressure which puts you at risk for cardiac issues.

Before we finish, let's set the record straight: Salt isn't the villain here. Salt is crucial. We won't delve into the details, but it plays a vital role in transporting essential nutrients to every cell in your body. We wouldn't want to mess with that balance. To sum it up: Embrace a bit of salt—and make sure to check those labels.