Be Weary of Sodium When Eating Out
By Sue Smith

It often comes as a shock to people that foods prepared in restaurants are much higher in sodium. You may think that you are consuming the same meal as you would at home, but that not usually the case. For instance, did you know that the Premium Southwest Salad from a popular fast food joint has 1,300 milligrams of sodium? That is more than a Big Mac! People are often unaware of these numbers and they are in disbelief when they are confronted with reality. So why is the sodium count so much higher at restaurants?

Well, there are several reasons. First of all, restaurants often offer larger portions. A larger portion means more sodium. Second of all, almost everything at a restaurant comes pre-packaged and processed. Processed foods are so much higher in sodium than fresh foods. For instance, when you prepare a salad at home, you have the opportunity to purchase fresh poultry, fresh greens and low sodium dressing. When you order a salad at a restaurant, you are getting frozen/packaged poultry, fresh lettuce, and high sodium dressing. Furthermore, you don't have the ability to control the amount of dressing on your salad. When you make a salad at home, you have better control over all of the ingredients. There are several ways you can take action against high sodium intake, such as: make food at home, buy more fresh ingredients instead of pre-packaged, when dining out check nutrition facts before leaving the house, order salads without croutons and dressing, order burgers without cheese, sauces and bacon. You can also ask the cook to prepare the meal without salt.

Healthy nutrition is important to our health and our weight. A healthy diet, exercise, whey nutrimelt shakes, and all natural diet pills can help you lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Susan Smith writes health articles about fitness and nutrition. Some of her favorite passions include writing about energy drinks.

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That's good information to know. I guess I am one of the people who didn't realize that restaurants have much higher sodium in the food they prepare. I know whenever the waiter or waitress brings my salad, I ask for the dressing to be on the side so I have control of how much I use on my salad, but it wasn't because of a sodium issue, it was because so many times they just put too dang much on.

question is how do you know the sodium count before you choose a restaurant or meal. it's not like they publish these things. any suggestions?

This is a very good question. Most likely it will be hard to find out the nutrition info and especially how much sodium are in certain meals when dining out, but you can do research before you actually leave your house if you know where you are going to eat. Most restaurants share their nutrition information online. I just did a quick search to check out McDonald's nutrition information and see if the sodium count was listed. It was in fact listed and the numbers sure are large!!! Wow, check it out: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritio ... facts.html (sodium is located towards the middle of the chart)

It sure would be nice if it were a law to publish the nutrition info such as how many calories, fat, and sodium were in a certain meal right next to where it is listed on the restaurant's menu, wouldn't it? Maybe one day...

I thought I read or heard that the restaurant has the nutritional information there, you just have to ask for it. Has anyone else heard anything about that being true?

I haven't heard about that, but I was in a restaurant today and while I was waiting to be seated I just so happened to find the restaurant's nutrition information... it was sitting right there in a stack next to a bench that I was waiting on! It was shocking to see how many calories, fat, and saturated fat was in all of the food items. One of the most shocking was this fruit filled pastry item that had over 1000 calories, over 60 grams of fat and a whopping 42 grams of saturated fat to it. Needless to say, I did not order that item.