We have a serious problem in this country. It's the food you buy at the local food store.

There is so much sodium in the foods we buy that it's shocking. We are quite literally saturating our bodies with it. Most people don't know this. Or care. Well, you should. The long term effects of too much sodium aren't pretty. High blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

In a recent report form CDC in Atlanta, it was eye opening to read that 40% of our sodium intake is from the following popular foods; bread, cold cuts, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes and all those snacks out there. These are foods that we eat all the time--every day! Even when you make a "healthy" homemade soup using chicken stock, the stock you use can have over 900mg of sodium in just 1 cup of stock! Those popular frozen entrees that many people eat to help them lose weight? They average around 400-600mg. of sodium. Even the chicken breast you buy at the store has probably been dipped or sprayed with a sodium solution to preserve it and give it extra flavor. It is obscene.

So why do they put all this sodium in food? Simple. For taste. They cut back on the good, flavorful ingredients to save money and make up for the lack of taste by adding sodium. It's what America is used to. And craves. Americans average over 3000 mg. of sodium per day. People over 51 years of age should limit their intake to around 1,500 mg per day. Yikes!

So why is Lizbeth Lane featuring this information? Because we care about the quality (or lack of) in the food we buy. Many of the processed foods produced in the US are SO loaded in sodium and SO bad for you---and your children--and your grandchildren! We want to educate you whats really out there in your local food markets. And....what you can do to counter this menace.

Habit one: Read those nutritional labels and learn. Read the sodium content for every item you pick up in a food store. You will be shocked. You will be disgusted. And, you may become a little dismayed at how hard it is to buy food that's not loaded with sodium.

We will keep you in informed. Check back in a couple of weeks to learn more about "Our War on Sodium".

Check out this link to get the basics on sodium use:
CDC Vital Signs- Where's the Sodium