Dangerous Daily Sodium

Most of the foods in the average diet contain natural sodium, which probably supplies the mere 200 mg your body needs for metabolic purposes in a day. If most of the foods you eat also contain added salt, your eating habits may be responsible for dangerous daily sodium intakes. Reliance on restaurant and convenience foods makes this unhealthy practice a distinct possibility. The Harvard School of Public Health reports that 75 percent of all the salt consumed comes from commercially-prepared foods.

Excessive Sodium Amounts

The Institute of Medicine suggests 2,300 mg of sodium as the upper limit for daily consumption. This is far above the amount needed for normal body function but doesn't promote ill health in individuals with normal cardiovascular systems. Most people regularly exceed that amount, taking in a daily average of 3,400 mg of sodium. Even if you reduced that intake by over 1,000 mg daily, you would still be getting the maximum amount of sodium your body can handle.

Health Significance

When you ingest the natural and added sodium in foods, your blood pressure rises. A complex process that involves your body fluids, blood volume and kidney mechanics enables your body to shed the excess sodium and return your blood pressure to normal. When you tax this system by regularly taking in dangerous amounts of sodium, your heart, blood vessels and kidneys can break down. High blood pressure can become chronic and serious complications such as stroke, heart attack and organ failure can occur, potentially ending your life.

Fast Foods

If you eat fast food or commercially-made deli foods each week, your sodium intake and taste threshold for salt may both be very high. Restaurants add large amounts of salt to foods because diners become accustomed to it. Fast foods such as submarine and breakfast sandwiches, cheeseburgers, tacos and fried fish and chicken sandwiches contain from 40 to 70 percent of your entire day's supply of sodium. That doesn't include salty side dishes and the sodium from your additional two meals and snacks. Even fast foods you don't consider salty, such as French toast sticks and fried fruit pies, contribute dangerous amounts of sodium to your daily diet.

Packaged Foods

The sodium from salt added to commercially-packaged foods may be obvious as in potato chips or "hidden" as in canned soups, frozen entrees and flavored prepared sauces that don't taste especially salty. You might recognize the sodium content in dill pickles, olives or salami but be surprised to learn that a suggested serving of cereal, bread or cheese adds significantly to your sodium totals. To gain insight into whether your use of packaged foods pushes your sodium intake to dangerous levels, compare the sodium content listings that the Food and Drug Administration, requires on food labels. This information will allow you to make wise choices on sodium reduction.