Pop Quiz Time

The teachers in my grade school were big fans of "pop quizzes." We never knew when we'd be asked to pull out a blank piece of paper and answer the questions being written on the board.

Most of us dreaded those pop quizzes, but in retrospect, they did keep us on our toes!

In that spirit, there's a little nutrition pop quiz just for fun. See if you know the answer 🙂

Question: Which product contains the most sodium?

a)  a serving of  beef

b)  a serving of baked all-natural chicken

c)  a large order of McDonald’s French fries

d)  a serving of salted pretzels?

(Think it over carefully as the Jeopardy music plays in your head)

 

Ok, here's the answer:

The chicken.

In his book How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger points out that the poultry industry commonly injects chicken carcasses with salt water to artificially inflate their weight, yet the chicken can still be labeled “100 percent natural.”

Consumer Reports found that some supermarket chickens are pumped so full of salt water that they registered 840 mg of sodium per serving - that could mean more than a full day's worth of sodium in just one chicken breast.

Surprising, right?

The majority of our salt intake comes from processed food, animal products, and fast food. But a whole food, plant-based diet provides all the sodium your body needs.

Tips:

• If you do choose to consume salt, a good rule of thumb is to salt your food at the table rather than at the stove top. Far less salt is used by flavoring the surface of your food rather than mixing/cooking it into the recipe.
• Keeping your sodium intake below 1500 mg is ideal, according to the American Heart Association. And we get about 500 mg of naturally-occurring sodium in the plants that we eat each day. That would allow for another 1000 mg, which is about 1/2 teaspoon.
• Lastly, make sure to read your labels! Packaged foods can be sodium bombs! Including breads, sauces, canned foods, and especially soups.

PS: Need help switching to a healthier diet? Check out my courses and optional coaching opportunities. I'd sure love to help you!