Eating Less Salt ≠ Consuming Less! These 10 Commonly Eaten Foods Are "Hidden Salt Champions"

We all know we should watch our salt intake, but some foods may not taste salty yet are surprisingly high in salt content,

because they contain a lot of "hidden salt."

Table salt is crystallized sodium chloride. When buying food, the nutrition label clearly indicates the sodium content.

So, to identify "hidden salt," one method is to look at the sodium content: 1g (1000mg) of sodium = 2.5g of salt

For example: take soybean paste, which contains 8000mg of sodium per 100g, equivalent to 8g. This means 100g of soybean paste contains 20g of salt. These 10 types of foods contain "hidden salt" that you should be cautious of:

1. Seasonings
2. Processed meat products
3. Noodles and instant noodle cakes
4. Fried foods like doughnuts and potato chips
5. Cheese (especially natural cheese)
6. Processed soy products like dried tofu and vegetarian chicken
7. Various sweets like bread, cakes, cookies, and ice cream
8. Dried fruits
9. Sports drinks, milk tea, instant coffee, and other beverages
10. Dishes with sweet and sour flavors

The "Chinese Residents' Dietary Guidelines (2022 Edition)" recommend a daily salt intake of no more than 5 grams/day, which is roughly equivalent to less than the cap of a mineral water bottle.

However, our current intake is 9.3 grams/day, about twice the recommended amount, with around 80% coming from salt added during cooking.