We all know how bad fast food is for us. It’s generally high in calories, high in fat and the salt content is tremendously high. It’s convenient, but so bad for our health.
Dr Norman Campbell, of the University of Calgary in Canada, worked on a recent study that compared the salt content of fast food in six different countries.
One serving of Chicken Nuggets from a popular fast food chain, for example, came with 1.5 grams of salt (or 600 milligrams of sodium) in the U.S. and 1.7 grams of salt (680 mg of sodium) in Canada. That compared with just 0.6 grams of salt (240 mg of sodium) in the UK.
The chicken nuggets served up in Australia, France and New Zealand had salt levels that fell somewhere in between.
Fast food burgers contained an average of 1.3 grams of salt across all countries – that’s 520 grams of sodium. The recommended intake of sodium is less than 2,000 mg per day, as suggested by the World Health Organization.
Campbell also notes that the sodium content of foods served at high end restaurants are also way too high as are prepackaged meals one would buy in the supermarket.
Campbell believes it us up to government regulations to cut down on sodium content. There is no need for there to be so much salt intake in a regular diet. 80% of the salt consumed by the average adult comes from food they are served and not from the salt shaker itself.
There is now a National Salt Reduction Initiative that has been started out of New York. Companies such as Kraft and Heinz have signed on to meet salt reduction targets.
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What do you think can be done to reduce the salt content in fast food?
READ MORE: Fast Food Salt Content Varies by Country, Study Says.
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