Most of Your Salt Intake Is From Processed Foods

You may only think of salt as that extra ingredient you sprinkle on bland or poor-tasting foods. But it turns out the bulk of your salt consumption lies outside of your household salt shaker.

That's right, approximately 71 percent of your sodium consumption actually comes from processed foods in restaurants and grocery stores, according to a recent study published in Circulation.

Researchers examined 450 adults from three regions in the U.S. – Birmingham, Alabama; Palo Alto, California; and Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. They found that average sodium intake among participants was 3,501 milligrams per day, higher than the recommended 2,300-milligrams-per-day level.

The study findings reinforced the 2010 Institute of Medicine's sodium-reduction recommendation, which encouraged food manufacturers to help lower overall US. sodium consumption.

While the bulk of people's sodium was added to food outside the home, sodium intake differed among demographic subgroups.

"Most notable is that although sodium added to food outside the home accounted for the majority of intake, sodium from salt added to food at the table accounted for 9.5% of total sodium intake for those from the Alabama site (455 mg/d)," according to the researchers.

The study's makeup reflected the overall U.S. population in terms of including participants with hypertension and who were overweight or obese, though it included more college graduates than in the general population.

The study was funded by a research contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.