You probably don’t put more than one packet of salt in one dish, but that’s the equivalent of sodium in your favorite healthy restaurant meal.
Sodium has been in all kinds of foods long before you even picked up a salt shaker. It is often added to food to preserve it and improve its taste.
Health Canada recommends that the average person consume 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. Too much sodium in your diet can lead to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for developing stroke and heart disease.
Most of the sodium in the Canadian diet comes from highly processed foods. According to Health Canadarestaurant meals may also be a major source.
To analyze how much sodium is hidden in a seemingly healthy diet, market When we looked at the sodium content posted online for items from popular sit-down chain restaurants, we found some dishes that shocked even diet experts.
“People often say, ‘Don’t add any salt to your diet,'” says registered dietitian Samantha Chavior.
“But [the] Most are already added to the seasonings, marinades and all pre-prepared foods before you even get to the restaurant.
To help grocery shoppers make informed decisions at a glance, Health Canada is introducing Package front warning label Prepackaged foods containing high sodium warnings to be displayed for Canadians by 2026. However, the same nutrition labeling requirements do not apply to restaurant menus.
“It’s very challenging,” Chavior says, adding that even as a nutritionist, I’m sometimes surprised by the amount of sodium in restaurant meals. There are cases.”
“When the population as a whole consumes too much salt and sodium, more people develop high blood pressure, more people develop stroke and heart disease, [we’ll] Dr. Paul Oh, Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Program at the University Health Network in Toronto, said:
Exceed your daily limit with one dish
Sodium information can be found on many restaurant chain websites, but it is not readily available on menus.
To check the sodium content of some common meals, market When I looked at the nutrition information for healthy dishes posted online by restaurants, I found that some of the servings exceeded the recommended daily intake.
For example, Joey Restaurant’s Mediterranean bowl branding has what some food experts call a “health halo.” It’s a term that describes anything that sounds healthier than it actually is.
“People see the word Mediterranean and think, ‘Oh, there are heart health benefits to eating a Mediterranean diet,’ so this would be a great option.” The diet itself also has great benefits for heart health.”
There are several fiber-rich options, including chickpeas, vegetables, and chicken.
The dish is listed as containing 2,530 milligrams of sodium.
“It’s a plate — your entire cap,” said Oh. “That’s probably double what he needs in a day,” he said of some of his patients.
“Every time you see the words marinated, smoked, pickled, or seasoned, you want to think about sodium,” added Xavior.
If you want to cut back on the salt, she suggests another option on Joey’s menu. It’s a crispy tofu bowl with 1,330 milligrams of sodium.
market We asked Joey Restaurant for more details on where the sodium content in the Mediterranean bowl comes from, but they didn’t respond.
At Earl’s Kitchen + Bar, market I ordered the vegan Hunan Kung Pao dish in the plant based section of the menu. The restaurant chain was originally market The dish contained 3,110 milligrams of sodium.
rear market When I contacted Earl’s, they said the chain had updated the vegan Hunan Kung Pao and lowered the sodium to 2,850 milligrams.
“People see vegan food as having nutritional benefits, and a vegan diet is a great dietary option,” says Chabior. “However, many dishes can still contain a lot of sodium, so you have to be careful.”
For a low-sodium swap at Earl’s, Xavior still suggested something plant-based: a vegan spring vegetable and grain salad listed as containing 600 milligrams of sodium.
Earls also said market It offers a “variety of menu options, from wholesome to indulgent,” and full nutritional information is easily accessible on its website, so “guests can make informed choices.”
At Kelsey’s Original Roadhouse, market Ordered chicken fajitas. According to the restaurant’s website, the menu item he has 4,340 milligrams of sodium. That’s almost double the recommended daily limit for one serving, and the highest amount of sodium of any menu item. market Purchased.
“I think this is probably overkill. [sodium] No heart disease, high blood pressure, or anything else for anyone,” Oh said.
“I think a lot of the time people choose this type of dish because they see a lot of chicken and vegetables…but unfortunately there are quite a few people in this particular dish. There’s a sodium source,” said Xavior.
The dish contained what appeared to be cheese and chicken seasonings, which could be a source of sodium.Chabior also noted that it came with five tortillas.
“Each of them would be a sneaky source of sodium. Just one tortilla could have 200 to 300 milligrams of sodium.”
A low-sodium alternative at Kelsey’s is to build your own burger, served with grilled chicken breast and steamed vegetables, she said. But that’s 1,166 milligrams of sodium.”
market I contacted Kelseys to ask more about the sodium content of their chicken fajitas, but received no response.
anyone dessert?
Higher-sodium options aren’t just limited to appetizers—think Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill’s birthday cake. This cake is listed online as containing 956 milligrams of sodium.
“This is a real surprise,” said Oh.
The dessert, which is meant to serve two people, has 478 milligrams of sodium per serving, or about 20% of your recommended daily limit, according to the restaurant.
“People are unaware that things like baking soda and baking powder contain sodium.”
If it’s your birthday, go ahead and have fun, suggests Chabior. You can order what you want, and it only has 67 milligrams of sodium.
Warning required by some US menus, not Canada
While Canadians will finally see new high-sodium warnings on prepackaged foods, some public health experts say restaurant menus are being ignored for similar requirements. There is
High-sodium foods are found throughout Canadian restaurant chains, according to Recent University of Toronto Studies, reviewed nutritional information and nutritional quality.Researchers use unpublished data market The study showed that a sit-down chain restaurant entree contained an average of 1,462 milligrams of sodium.
Marketplace reveals how much sodium is in some popular restaurant meals and shares how consumers can avoid falling into the sodium trap.
“Despite all the efforts being made to reduce sodium in food, little progress has been made in restaurants.Some of these food categories are just very high in sodium.Public Health Nutrition.
“I think that symbol could easily be put on food in restaurants. I don’t think there’s a good scientific reason not to.”
Elsewhere, there is a call for more transparency in the menu.
New York City was America’s first city Request a seated chain restaurant There are over 15 places to place a warning icon on menu items that contain more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium. The policy took effect in 2016, despite an initial legal challenge by the National Restaurant Association.
“When you walk into a chain restaurant, you may not know exactly how much sodium a product contains. It may contain some amount of sodium,” Amaka said. Anekwe, Director of Strategic Nutrition Initiatives for the New York City Department of Health, said:
Gathering preliminary evidence Anekwe said warning icons by the city’s health department appear to indicate consumers are being enticed to opt for low-sodium options at sit-down restaurant chains.
“It’s impossible to tell how much sodium an item has just by looking at it, so Icon does that,” she said.
when market When asked why restaurants are not included in the new labeling requirements, Health Canada said, “Front-of-the-package (FOP) nutrition symbols are intended to complement nutrition labeling information.” There is no federal requirement to provide nutritional information for unpackaged foods, such as menu items.
Avoid getting caught in a sodium trap
Chabior and Oh say more consumer information about the menu would be helpful. In the meantime, we suggest reviewing online menus before heading to a restaurant to find out how much sodium you’re getting.
Both say don’t be afraid to eat out and treat yourself once in a while.
“I think a great approach is to think about the 80/20 principle,” says Chabior. “80% of the time we try to practice a low-sodium diet: choosing nutritious foods, cooking at home more often, and using minimally processed ingredients.
“That leaves an extra 20 percent room for you to have some flexibility with your diet and be able to go out and enjoy a meal with friends from time to time.”
