Who would've thought a sandwich could potentially be a health threat? The risk is very real, according to a study done by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food Surveys Research Group, pointing out that the humble concoction packs in a significant amount of sodium.
Published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the study used data gleaned from the "What We Eat in America" NHANES survey conducted in 2009-2010. The survey involved 5,762 adults, each one of which was instructed to record all they had consumed the previous day. Food items were then assigned specific codes to allow researchers to assess nutritional content.
Based on the survey, researchers found out that 49 percent of the subjects ate at least one sandwich on any given day. Sandwiches also, as it turned out, represented a fifth of a person's daily recommended sodium intake.
Dietary guidelines put maximum sodium intake for a day at 2,300mg for healthy individuals. For those who are over 50 years old, African-Americans, or who have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or high blood pressure, the recommended sodium level per day is trimmed down to 1,500mg.
According to Rhonda Sebastian, co-author for the study and ARS nutritionist, sodium in sandwiches have been considerably underestimated because sandwiches were previously analyzed with just a single food code. By assessing sandwiches both as one food item and the combination of individual components, researchers were able to get a better idea of just how much sodium a sandwich can contain.
And because individual components are factored in, swapping out high-sodium ingredients with low-sodium alternatives can affect the overall sodium content of a sandwich.
Aside from high sodium, sandwiches also apparently contribute to higher calorie intakes. Comparing sandwich eaters with non-sandwich eaters, the study showed that about 600mg more of sodium is consumed, alongside around 300 more calories.
"The unanticipated finding that sandwich consumption is associated with higher overall intake of energy underscores the importance of making healthful choices of sandwich ingredients," commented co-author Celia Wilkinson, also an ARS nutritionist.
She added that many kinds of sandwiches, including franks and burgers, and common ingredients like cured meats, cheese, and yeast breads are not only top sodium contributors but significantly add calories to the diets of typical Americans.
High consumption of sodium is a health risk because it raises blood pressure. Hypertension is a major risk factor associated with stroke and heart disease, both of which are leading causes of death in the United States.
