Sandwiches Can Be a Major Contributor To Your Salt Intake

Home made or bought?

Take note if you eat sandwiches frequently, especially if the sandwich is not home made, as a study found that sandwiches accounted for one fifth (or 20 %) of a sandwich-eaters' daily salt intake.

Researchers found that 49 % of American adults (54 % women, 44 % men) surveyed ate at least one sandwich daily. The salt in those sandwiches accounted for 20 % of their daily salt intake.

The researchers also found that sandwich eaters ate 300 calories more than non sandwich eaters on the day they were surveyed and consumed an average of 600 more milligrams of salt compared to those who did not eat sandwiches.

Before you swear off eating sandwiches, a big mitigating factor was that hamburgers and hot dogs  were classified as sandwiches in this particular study. Now we don't always eat burgers and hot dogs right? Coz this will definitely increase salt levels and calories compared to home made sandwiches.

Moral of the study? Better to eat home made sandwiches.

Reference

Sebastian RS,  Enns CW et al (2014). Sandwiches Are major Contributors Of Sodium In The Diets Of American Adults: Results from What we Eat In America, National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010. J Academy Nutrition Dietetics.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand2014.07.034.