You probably already know that eating too much sodium can cause bloating, high blood pressure, and other complications. But you may be surprised to learn that one food that you may eat every day chews up nearly 50% of your daily recommended sodium allowance. The culprit?
The sandwich. A study recently published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that on any given day, 49% of American adults eat at least one sandwich and that sandwich accounts for 46% of the daily recommended sodium allowance.
The 2010 dietary guidelines recommend adults consume no more than 2300 mg of sodium per day, and those with existing heart concerns, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, should consume no more than 1500 mg per day. However, the average intake of sodium among Americans is a whopping 3400 mg per day.
Another interesting finding of this study was that the sandwich eaters also eat more calories per day than non-sammie eaters. In fact, on days when study participants ate a sandwich, they averaged 300 calories more—you’d have to run about 3 miles to burn that off—than on days when they did not eat a sandwich.
You don’t have to swear off sandwiches completely to keep your sodium and calories in check, but being smart with the ingredients you add to your sandwich is important. To keep things healthy, check out these tips:
1. Whenever possible, make your own sandwich rather than get one out. Restaurant sammies tend to be much higher in sodium and calories due to increased seasonings and condiments, more processed ingredients, and larger portions in general.
2. Skip the processed lunch meats and make a sandwich using leftover chicken, fish, or steak that you cooked yourself. Or—how about going meatless altogether?
3. Load your sandwich up with plenty of fresh ingredients like veggies, avocado, and fresh herbs, and go easy on the bottled condiments.
4. If you can’t live without cheese on your sandwich, stick to brick cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, or swiss cheese, which all have 150mg of sodium or less per serving (less than half that of many other varieties). Good news is that these softer varieties of cheese tend to be lower in calories than harder varieties as well.
5. You may not think of bread as salt, but breads are often a hidden source of sodium with many brands packing around 250mg of sodium into a single slice. Look for lower sodium, natural breads in the freezer section of the grocery store.
6. If you like nut butter sandwiches, be sure to choose a natural variety with no salt added and you’ll skip the sodium altogether. Bonus: Most of the unsalted added varieties have no sugar added either, to keep calories in check. Either way, just be sure to stay mindful of the two tablespoon serving size.
7. For canned ingredients, such as beans or tuna, be sure to look for lower sodium options. You can also rinse and drain beans before using to cut the sodium by 40%.
8. Skip the chips. We often pair sammies with sides that aren’t as good for us like chips, pretzels, or fries. Instead, choose fresh sides like veggies or fruit that are naturally lower in sodium and calories and higher in nutrients.
Need more inspiration on how to build a healthy sandwich? Try these non-boring, yet nutritious sandwich recipes!
44 Responses
Whenever the word “Secret” is used in a headline I roll my eyes. Still remains true.
Sorry, “sammy” is not a word and all I did was roll my eyes throughout this entire story.
Grow up I think everyone knows what is being said.
Sorry, I also hate the term ‘sammie’. It’s too cutesy & Rachel Ray used it to death.
Not a Tom Haverford fan are you?
“Zerts are what I call desserts. Tray trays are entrees. I call sandwiches sammies, sandoozles or Adam Sandlers. Air conditioners are cool blasterz with a ‘z’. I don’t know where that came from. I call cakes big ol’ cookies. I call noodles long ass rice. Fried chicken is fry fry chicky chick. Chicken Parm is chickey chickey parm parm. Chicken Cacciatore chickey catch. I call eggs pre-birds or future birds. Root beer is super water. Tortillas are bean blankies. And I call forks food rakes.”
Whatever.
I also look askance at the word “yummy,” unless said by a toddler. There’s a long list of such silly, childish and really not very descriptive words, none of which, however, appear on Mr. Haverford’s list.
As I’m eating a sandwich…
what is “Brick” cheese….?
I wondered that too – doesn’t sound very appetizing! Is it the kind that comes in a block at the grocery store? That was my guess as I do tend to use a lot more if I slice cheese than if I sprinkle a little grated cheese on a sandwich!
You would have to go to a cheese store to get true brick cheese. It’s actually quite nice, usually mild, good for melting. Google it.
All cheese varieties come in block form, except for that sliced “American” cheese that’s not really cheese at all LOL. Brick cheese is another name for a specific type of American cheese (the good kind!) made in Wisconsin. The internet says that at one point bricks were used to press the excess water from the curds, so that’s how it got the name. I tried it once in one of those Swiss Colony meat/cheese samplers. It’s not bad. The kind I tried had a very mild cheddar taste, but a little more nutty. Though, like cheddar, it comes in a variety of ages/sharpness. Being that I haven’t seen it in the cheese isle of the grocery store, I’m guessing it’s one of those that you’ll have to venture to the deli counter for. Hope my information was helpful 🙂
yes it was helpful, thxx. still sounds suspicious to me however..
Wow, folks are really bored.
Sanger, Sammy, sarnie – all words for sandwich somewhere in the world – the point of the article is to realize how much salt you may be unwittingly consuming, and I for one had never actually considered how much there might be in bread, so thank you to the writer!
Didn’t realize there were so many editors out there. The point of article is a good one and brought out many points I wasn’t aware of. Thank you Self and journalist who wrote.
Sounds like an expensive sandwich.
Brick is a kind of cheese. Like swiss is or cheddar is, or gouda is. It it is sold sliced or as a block like any other cheese. It can be aged and strong or young and mild.
Get some colds cuts, get some cold cuts
According to the journal article, there was no significant difference in sodium intake between those who ate sandwiches and those who didn’t. So what’s your point?
The point is that the media has to blow everything out of proportion in order to write an article. ALWAYS check your facts before you believe anything written these days.
Sammie???? Did a 5 year old write this article?
Chill pill…… She was making a difficult subject FUN.
Am I the only one whose doctor said “Get more salt?”
I grew up on sandwiches and Im not going to stop eating them. I dont eat them everyday .
It has been realized, just recently, that while a lot of salt is bad for you, too little salt is also bad for you. I believe the proper amount is somewhere between 1500 and 2500 milligrams. So it’s not impossible your doctor said “Get more salt,” but without knowing more about you I can’t say why. My preference would be for you to ask him or her, however.
You could some how have a deficiency. Deficiency is almost worse. Especially with sodium since it’s so necessary for your neuron function. That’s why it’s an electrolyte!
Most of the reason is carbamazepine- I was on it for ~15 years before a doctor mentioned that it could cause low sodium, then several more before another said it was low enough to be a problem.
My dad had a heart attack in April. The doctors didn’t think he would make it, I packed clothes for a funeral when I went home. He did not look at all like someone who would have a heart-attack. No warning signs, not overweight, and is active. The first thing the doctors told him when they were ready to release him and started addressing diet and what needed to change was salt. Salt is fine (and like many things good/necessary in moderation), but when you exceed the daily recommended allowance it can be harmful (ie. raise your blood pressure). The 2 main take-a-ways were (1) no salt at the table (2) be cautious of prepacked lunch meats. Bake a chicken or turkey and use that for sandwiches vs. packaged meats. Your doctor has his reasons for suggesting that you are not getting enough. My take-away…life is about balance…You can have a piece of cake, just not the whole cake. A glass of wine is fine (some say good), just not the whole bottle in one sitting. A burger is fabulous, just make sure it’s not all the time. My doctors told my dad “we didn’t bring you back to make you eat cardboard. You can have your fried catfish once every couple weeks, but it can’t be more frequent than that.” And that is assuming that he is watching other foods daily like saturated fats, salt intake and exercising.
Research found that too little salt can also cause high blood pressure. Thus, getting the RDA of salt and not much more or less, is probably best. And of course, coupling this with appropriate exercise that include High Intensity Interval Training.
Unless you are eating nearly 500g of sodium a day, eating sodium does not raise blood pressure significantly. I do agree processed food is not the best thing to be eating though. The sodium/blood pressure link is a myth.
I believe that the medical profession has changed its view on sodium causing HBP. In fact if you use good sea salt like Celtic,and Himalayan, etc., it’s supposed to help lower blood pressure due to the balanced minerals and trace minerals. Processed foods are NEVER good for you.
Bryan…how do you know this? Is there an article I could read? I have Hbp and would like to know more about this. Thanks
My doctor said the same thing. She said adding salt to your food is not a real issue unless you are dumping it on.
Have you gone mad? 500 g (1/2 Kg??) sodium/blood pressure link is a myth? Eat your salt, man. All 500 gm!
Where did you earn your MD or PhD?
Ty c- you made me laugh like crazy this morning!!!!
Really. Fruits and vegetables are better sides than chips. Good thing I read this article.
hi I am on a high protein low carb cal diet I have loss 76 pounds I started this june 2013. I have been stuck for the last two months I eat 1330 cal a day I eat mostly vegie burgers and fish protein shakes nuts can any one give me some advice how to get unstuck thank you
Subliminal messages for vegetarianism. If I wanted to be unhealthy and only eat plants, I wouldn’t have clicked on the link.
Totally agree. I was reading it until I saw the part about skipping the meat. Then I skipped down to comments.
How do you measure the sodium mg for yourself? Especially if you are on the road?
Opting for local businesses is great too. We get our bread from a local bakery that uses very little sodium (about a pinch per loaf of farmer’s bread) and is high in fiber and grains.
This headline ASSUMES I HATE the Vegan diet and eat Shyt every single day. I don’t. I don’t eat meats and chicken and processed curap that the masses sell to make me sick. My bread, contains nuts, fiber (flax seed) and is Gluten Free. I don’t put cheese on my bread at home. I eat Tofu. 98% of the “faux meats and chick’ns” that are on the market for Vegetarians and Vegans I’m allergic too. Consequently, I already knew this article did not apply to me. I read it anyway, and yes, it still does not apply to me.
NOTE: Too LITTLE salt has been proven to RAISE your blood pressure. Yes, too much salt does the same thing. Unfortunately, the expert on Dr. Oz didn’t mention the names behind the research to my recollection, but he did mention how no one was expecting that result, as they all assumed, that less salt was good for you – especially if you had high blood pressure. However, they found that lowering the salt was still not lowering the blood pressure in some people. This is what probably led to the study in the first place.
Some of us are adults, and adult males, for that matter, and we do not call sandwiches “sammies,” the same as we don’t “tinkle.” Thanks.