Quiz: Can You Spot the Salt in Your Food?
Too much salt can affect your heart, brain, and kidneys, but many everyday foods pack a hidden sodium punch.
By Sheri Alzeerah
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Which has more sodium?
Auntie Anne’s Sesame Pretzel or 3 tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce?
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Answer: Reduced sodium soy sauce
Reduced-sodium soy sauce has 1,770 mg of sodium in three tablespoons, which is what you might use. The salty pretzel doesn’t fall too far behind though. This food-court fave contains 1,570 mg of sodium—that’s more than half of your daily recommended value.
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Which has more sodium?
A frozen TV dinner or a scoop of salted caramel ice cream?
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Answer: a frozen TV dinner
TV dinners are notorious offenders when it comes to sodium content—even the “diet” kind. For instance, a “lean” beef TV dinner with rice and veggies contains 535 mg of sodium. A cup of salted caramel ice cream (though high in fat and sugar) has 270 mg of sodium.
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Which has more sodium?
3 slices of fat-free lunch meat or Burger King’s Whopper Jr. and Crown-Shaped Chicken Tenders?
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Answer: It’s a tie
Lunch meat and high sodium go together: One serving of fat-free honey-roasted turkey breast has an astounding 770 mg of sodium, as much as a full meal at Burger King.
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Which has more sodium?
Chili’s Brownie Sundae or Chili’s Classic Sirloin?
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Answer: Chili’s Brownie Sundae
Food doesn’t have to be salty to be sodium sinkhole. Here, the Brownie Sundae packs a hefty 930 mg of sodium (along with the added bonuses of 1,290 calories, 61 g of fat, and 195 g of carbs). The Classic Sirloin, without sides, has about 100 mg less.
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Which has more sodium?
P.F. Chang’s Wok Charred Beef or a box and a half of saltine crackers?
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Answer: It’s a tie!
This P.F. Chang’s meal knocks nearly all contenders way out of the ballpark with its outrageous 10,045 mg of sodium. That’s the equivalent of 244 saltines, 40 bags of Funyuns or 175 cups of Newman’s Butter Popcorn, according to Eat This, Not That! by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding.
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Which has more sodium?
Dunkin Donuts’ Double Cocoa Kreme Donut or 2 tablespoons of ketchup?
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Answer: ketchup
Just two tablespoons of ketchup has 380 mg of sodium. The decadent doughnut, though an offender in nearly any other sense, has about 100 mg of sodium less than this condiment.
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Which has more sodium?
Raisin Bran or Froot Loops?
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Answer: Raisin Bran
Though high in fiber and healthy whole grains, Raisin Bran loses points in the sodium department. It has 350 mg of sodium in a cup, compared to 135 mg of sodium in a cup of Froot Loops.
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Which has more sodium?
A serving of mixed nuts or a serving of string cheese?
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Answer: string cheese
Dairy products can be jam-packed with sodium. A serving of mixed nuts has 90 mg of sodium, but a serving of string cheese has 170 mg of sodium.
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Which has more sodium?
15 potato chips or 15 reduced-fat wheat crackers?
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Answer: reduced-fat wheat crackers
A “Reduced Fat” label often means the manufacturer added something else to make up for the flavor, like salt: the crackers contain about 100 more mg of sodium (270 mg) than a similar serving of chips.
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Which has more sodium?
McDonald’s Medium French Fries or Coldstone’s Cookie Crumb Yum Ice Cream Sandwich?
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Answer: Coldstone’s Cookie Crumb Yum Ice Cream Sandwich
A medium order of French fries has 270 mg of sodium. The ice cream sandwich, on the other hand, has almost twice that amount, with 490 mg of sodium.
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Which has more sodium?
A cup of reduced-fat chocolate milk or a cup of apple juice?
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Answer: reduced-fat chocolate milk
A cup of reduced fat chocolate milk contains 130 mg of sodium. The same serving of apple juice has nearly 100 fewer mg of sodium plus the added health benefits of potassium and antioxidants.
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Which has more sodium?
Cinnabon Classic cinnamon roll or Panda Express’s Orange Chicken?
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Answer: Cinnabon Classic cinnamon roll
One sweet roll will give you a shocking 830 mg of sodium, while Orange Chicken has 640 mg. But don’t call Orange Chicken health food just yet. The entrée has more calories than Pineapple Chicken and Broccoli Beef—combined.
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Which has more sodium?
A tablespoon of butter or a tablespoon of vegetable oil?
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Answer: butter
A tablespoon of butter has 90 mg of sodium, but vegetable oil has zero mg of sodium.
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Which has more sodium?
2 peanut butter cups or 200 gummy bears?
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Answer: peanut butter cups
Don’t let quantity deceive you. Two-hundred gummy bears have only 96 mg of sodium. As an added bonus, they’re fat-free. One pack of peanut butter cups contains 130 mg of sodium (and 13 g of fat!).
