Many Americans are trying to limit the amount of salt in their diets. They know that reducing sodium intake can help lower blood pressure and reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
But restaurants aren't making it easy to cut back, according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The advocacy organization says some meals at popular chains such as Red Lobster, Chili's and Olive Garden contain up to 5,000 milligrams of sodium - more than double what a healthy adult should be eating each day.
In recent years, Subway, Olive Garden, McDonald's and others have pledged to reduce the amount of sodium on their menus. To track their progress, the Center for Science in the Public Interest conducted a study analyzing 136 meals from 17 of the top restaurant chains in the United States. They looked at these meals in 2009 and then again in 2013 to see if there had been any change.
There was good and bad news.
Read - Restaurants slacking on cutting sodium from meals, report says
Previously:
Report: Americans want better quality fast food
You're eating too much salt. Consider not doing that.
I wonder if restauranteurs realize the volume of business they are missing out on from those of us leery of the notorious levels of sodium in meals?
My husband and I rarely (once a year?) eat out. The list of restaurants I will not visit include Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden. Carrabas, on and on. Even asking for a salad with no dressing does not work because they still dump stuff on it. Obviously, many people must love heart attack levels of salt; but I suspect there are millions of dollars of business that restaurants lose from the rest of us who avoid them.
By the way, we use no salt in our cooking: rosemary, cumin, sage, thyme and so on take care of all flavor needs. And actually, what tastes better than vegetables served au naturale?
And, to be honest, the food we cook tastes so much better than what we can get in a restaurant.
Alarmist. How many people actually eat at these places every single day? Or even 3-5 times per week? Your average person is going to eat out, maybe, 1-2 times a week and, if they're smart, they'll be selective about what they order. If they aren't, then there's more fodder for palintwit.
LM F AO! palintwit will love this comment. At least I did.