Most salt in your food isn’t from the shaker

Despite recommendations to limit sodium intake to reduce or avoid high blood pressure, Americans are eating more salt than ever.

The average American consumes 3,000 to 5,000 mg of salt each day. The recommendation for healthy adults is 2,300 mg, which is equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride).

Those diagnosed with high blood pressure are urged to reduce intake to below 1,500 mg.

Though we can all picture friends who blindly reach for the saltshaker, only 6 percent of the sodium we eat comes from what we sprinkle.

A staggering 77 percent of the sodium consumed by Americans comes from processed and restaurant foods. About 12 percent is naturally occurring in foods and 5 percent is added when cooking meals at home.

The best way to lower sodium intake is to read labels on all packaged and processed foods.

The more common high-sodium foods include cold cuts, snack foods, processed cheese and canned foods. Often, the more “ready-to-eat” a packaged food is, like frozen entrees or soups, the more salt it most likely contains.

Instead, choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and low-sodium options when available.

High-sodium menu items at restaurants may be more difficult to spot, but many restaurants chains are posting their nutrition information on their Web sites.

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