Fast Food With Most Sodium

Article by Diet Bites

Fast Foods With Most Salt Milligrams

Burger King

It would be easier for us to list all of the menu choices which are low in salt content - than more. All of their regular size burgers contain close to 1,000 milligrams of sodium with many at almost 2,000 milligrams - like the Texas Double Whopper at 1,770 mg's.

The BK Country Pork Sandwich contains 1,910 mg's of salt while the 5-piece Homestyle Chicken Strips contain 2,340.

What about a nice, healthy [cough, cough] salad? The Garden Fresh Chicken Caesar with Tendergrill and dressing has 1,620 mg's and the Garden Fresh Salad Chicken BLT with Tendergrill and dressing, 1,750 mg's.

Topping the list with the most sodium on the BK menu is the Ultimate Breakfast Platter with 2,920 mg's of sodium.

McDonalds

Most of the regular size burgers range from 900 to about 1300 milligrams of sodium. Let's view the salt content of the burgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps, wings and fries.

Big Mac, 970 mg
Quarter Pounder with Cheese, 1100 mg
Quarter Pounder Bacon Habanero Ranch, 1180 mg
Quarter Pounder Bacon & Cheese, 1440 mg
Quarter Pounder Deluxe, 960
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, 1280 mg
Double Cheeseburger, 1050 mg
Bacon McDouble, 1120 mg
Premium Crispy Chicken Club, 1410 mg
Grilled Version, 1250 mg
Premium McWrap Crispy Chicken & Bacon, 1490 mg
Grilled Version, 1330 mg
Premium McWrap Crispy Southwest Chicken, 1450 mg
Grilled Version, 1280 mg
Mighty Wings, 10 piece - 2900 mg
Spicy Chicken McBites, Shareable Size, 1990 mg
Big Breakfast with Hotcakes, Regular Biscuit, 2150 mg
Large Fries, 350 mg
Egg Nog McCafe Shake, 16 fluid ounces, 220 mg
Large Size at 22 fluid ounces, 270 mg 

Subway Restaurant

While it may seem healthier to opt for a salad at Subway - the small hamburger at McDonalds might be a better choice if you're watching weight and sodium intake.

For example, the Big Philly Cheesesteak Salad holds 1080 milligrams of salt, 330 calories and 16 grams of total fat. It also contains 1 gram of Trans fat and 85 grams of cholesterol. Any other ingredients added to the salad - including dressing, will increase these values.

If we look at McDonalds hamburger, it contains only 250 calories and 9 grams of total fat. It has half the Trans fat as the Subway salad and about two-thirds less cholesterol content at only 25 milligrams.

Salt content is more than slashed in half at 480 milligrams. So yes - the hamburger is the healthier choice based on all of these nutritional elements.

Most of the Subway sandwiches are excessive in sodium content, even though they contain low fat ingredients.

The 6" Big Hot Pastrami contains 1470 milligrams of sodium. The 6" Spicy Italian contains 1490 mg's while the 6" Steak & Bacon Melt hold 1550 mg's.

Even the sandwiches which are six grams or less in fat are excessive in salt. For example, both the Subway Club and the Black Forest Ham sandwiches contain 800 milligrams.

Lunch meats, cheese, olives and pickles are naturally rich in sodium. Keep in mind that the values will be impacted when condiments are added to the sandwiches.

The salads are mined with sodium. The Sriracha Steak Melt Salad contains 1250 mg's while the Big Philly Cheesesteak Salad contains 1080 mg.

Taco Bell

7-Layer Burrito, 1020 mg
Bean Burrito, 1050 mg
Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, 1280 mg
Cantina Chicken Burrito, 1920 mg
Cantina Steak Burrito, 1870 mg
Cantina Veggie Burrito, 1710 mg
Cheesy Potato Burrito, 1340 mg
Smothered Beef Burrito, 2260 mg
Smothered Shredded Chicken Burrito, 2230 mg
Smothered Steak Burrito, 2080 mg
XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito, 2080 mg 
Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla, 2070 mg
Fresco Chicken Supreme Burrito, 1090 mg
Fiesta Taco Salad, Beef - 1590 mg
Chicken Version, 1470 mg
Steak Version, 1410 mg
Nachos BellGrande, 1270 mg
Double Decker Taco, 710 mg
Supreme Version, 730 mg
A.M. Bacon Crunchwrap, 1270 mg
Sausage Version, 1250 mg
Bacon & Egg Burrito, 1080 mg

Jack in the Box

The first three items listed in our data table below are on the 'Healthy Dining' menu.

As with Subway, 'health smart' is obviously based on the caloric values as well as the distribution of lipids rather than sodium content.

Based on the salt contained in the menu items - none of the items listed on this page are what we consider healthy - and if you ask your doctor, we're certain they will agree. This is just one reason why it's important to view ALL the elements of your food when making the best choice.

Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, 1470 mg
Grilled Chicken Strips with Teriyaki Dipping Sauce, 1600 mg
Jr. Jack, 720 mg
Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger, 2190 mg
Sirloin Cheeseburger, 1990 mg
With Bacon, 2400 mg
Crispy Chicken Strips, 4 pieces, 1580 mg
Homestyle Ranch Club, 2010 mg
Grilled Sandwich, Deli Trio, 2440 mg
Stuffed Jalapeno's, order of 7, 1690 mg
Large Fries, 1120 mg
Large Curly Fry, 1280 mg

Fast Food High Salt Selection Equal Weight Gain

It is important to note that when we dine on excess sodium we almost-always pick up two to five or more pounds of 'false' pounds. We call them false because rather than being true pounds, the weight is the result of water retention issues.

What causes the water retention? Salt.

It's notorious for creating false weight gain and it may require the body several days to release the pent-up fluids. In the meanwhile, this taxes the body and may increase blood pressure readings. Extra sudden weight can also be taking on the heart as well as the abdominal area of the body.

Salt acts much like a sponge does to water once it enters the body in excessive amounts.

This isn't to say that we should completely avoid salt - because if we did that, we'd have even more serious health issues. Life itself requires salt.

However, if most of us tossed out our salt shakers we'd probably be more healthy for doing such as long as we consumed a few commercially produced foods and drinks - particularly if our daily menu consisted of fast food menu selections.

Individually, our daily sodium requirements vary. An individual who requires 2,000 kcals daily generally requires about 1 teaspoon of salt per day. That's about 2,300 milligrams of sodium.

If we take a look at our data chart below, we see that one small fish sandwich contains over 900 milligrams. But that's small fish compared to many fast food burgers which contain at times, more than 3,000 milligrams.

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