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More Sodium In Cereal Than In Chips?

Diet Article: Sodium impacts health and weight, creating false pounds in salt-sensitive individuals.

Could there really be more salt in cereal choices than contained in a serving of chips?

What? How can that be?

Cereal is packed with grains, vitamins, minerals, fiber; it's generally low in fat and if it's not coated with sugar, it's fairly low in the sugar department.

But sodium? Hidden sodium? Let's look at a comparison:

Regular salted potato chips contain 136 mg of sodium per one ounce serving. Now let's see how this compares to one of the most popular cereals circling the Diet Village.

General Mills Cheerios -  A one cup serving contains 160 mg of sodium but the interesting thing is that just about three years ago a one cup serving contained 290 mg of sodium. The Banana Nut variety of Cheerios contains 200 sodium mgs per cup as do the Honey Nut variety.

Now let's look at Kellogg's Special K which is touted as a food for weight loss; one cup contains 204 whopping sodium mgs - still more than a one ounce serving of potato chips. The Kellogg's Rice Krispies contains 157 mgs per one cup serving.

In fact, one ounce of uncooked oats contains 134 sodium mgs.

One of the reasons why potato chips taste so salty is because the salt is on the outside of the product.

We have a couple of challenges for you which can assist in healthy weight loss. Keep in mind that many individuals are sensitive to the effects of too much sodium in their foods and drinks with side effects that include: false weight gain as salt triggers water retention issues within the body, bloating, swelling, digestive issues and discomfort due to such.

Your first task is to go grab your favorite cereal box and do some comparisons. How much sodium content per recommended serving size does your favorite cereal contain?

Your second task involves getting in better-touch with your taste buds to determine if you have become sensitized to salt. Attempt to answer the following questions as accurately as possible.

1. When you sit down to eat do you grab for the salt shaker before tasting your food to see if it needs it or not?

2. When you are fast food dining or fine restaurant dining, taste the food that you ordered and see if you can identify the natural flavor of the food. Is it concealed by the sodium content. For example, let's say that you order corn on the cob and it comes to your table pre-buttered, salted and peppered. How salty are the flavors? Can you taste the natural goodness of the corn?

3. Let's take the above step and add to it. The next time that you enjoy corn on the cob at home - or any vegetable, try to eat it without adding anything - no added salt, butter, margarine - even the lower calorie margarine. Do you enjoy the natural flavor of the vegetable? If not, could you learn to do such if it meant losing weight?

Adding that serving of butter to the vegetable also adds about 100 calories; if it's full-blown margarine - that's about 60 to 80 calories. This is discounting the dietary fat content which is of the worst type - saturated and at times, Trans fat.

4. Do you experience the side-effects mentioned above after eating foods that are heavily sprinkled with salt? Reducing sodium in the diet is an instant remedy for such.

5. Foods that are in their natural state are naturally low in sodium content; the potato in raw form - straight from Farmer Tom's garden contains only 6 mgs for one-half cup, diced. But when the potatoes are cooked in oil and drenched with either salad dressing or cheese, the values increase to over 500 mgs. Which do you prefer?

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