While we’ve been obsessing about the dangers of eating too much fat, another enemy has been quietly undermining our health. An increasing number of studies show that salt is a disease-causing culprit — and many of our everyday foods are chock full of it.

“Sodium consumption is way too high for good health,” says Massimo Marcone, an adjunct professor in the department of food science at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ont. He has done testing in his laboratory on hundreds of different foods to determine their levels of sodium. With many foods having dangerously high amounts, he says, a societal sea change is necessary: “The way we used to look at fats is the same way we now need to look at sodium, until it is reined in, as was done with fat.”

Reading labels to find out how much sodium is in a product is a good idea, but, Marcone warns, salt levels are usually higher than stated. The government allows a 20% deviation. “What is on the label is not necessarily what is in the product,” he says. “I do find discrepancies.”

Health Canada recommends that healthy adults eat a maximum of 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. A recent Statistics Canada report showed that Canadian men consume an average of 4,100 mg of sodium a day and women take in 2,900 mg. These statistics are not surprising when commonly eaten foods are analysed for their sodium content. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., recently tested Chinese food. It found that while it can be healthy because it contains a lot of vegetables and doesn’t use trans fats, it is often laden with sodium.

A popular dish, chicken with black bean sauce, for instance, might seem like a healthy choice. Testing of this dish at one restaurant showed it contained a whopping 3,800 mg of sodium. A dish of chow mein with soft noodles contained 3,600 mg of sodium.

Marcone points to other popular foods that are high in sodium: french fries, hamburgers, frozen pizzas, bacon, hot dogs, corned beef, some soups and prepared spreads and sauces, especially salad dressings at fast-food outlets.

He suggests consumers be wary of prepared foods that come in boxes: “People in two-income families are busy and for convenience they resort to food that is partially prepared or quick. Some are very high in sodium, to the point at which one portion is more than the amount recommended for the day. It’s alarming.”

Is all this salt really bad for us? A certain amount of salt is needed in the diet, say experts, to help cells function properly. But, as Statistics Canada notes, 85% of men and 60% of women consume more sodium than they need.

The most conclusive evidence that this is hurting people is the “Intersalt Study,” which included more than 10,000 people in 32 countries. Published in 1997 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it found that habitual high salt intake in our society is causing population-wide patterns of high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for an epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

On the flip side, a more recent study published in the British Medical Journal found that those who significantly cut back on salt in their diet can reduce by one-quarter the risk that they will develop cardiovascular disease.

Why is there so much sodium in certain foods? The low-fat revolution is partly to blame. Food manufacturers are trying to produce tasty food without as much fat in it, Marcone says. But that leaves them with a scientific conundrum: fat coats the inside of our mouths, allowing food to release flavour slower, and it gives texture to the food. That is why fatty foods are tastier.

“When foods get reformulated with less fat, the fat is replaced with other ingredients, and those ingredients have salt associated with them,” Marcone says. “It becomes a playoff of risk/benefit — which are you going to go for?”

Here are some ways to reduce sodium intake:

> Be aware that restaurant and take-out food is generally high in salt. Eat at home more often.

@page_break@> In a restaurant, ask whether it is possible for your meal to be prepared without added salt. For instance, fast-food restaurants sometimes add salt at the last minute.

> Choose reduced-salt versions of foods such as soups.

> Don’t rely heavily on quick-to-prepare foods that come in boxes, such as frozen pizza.

> When cooking, use herbs, spices, wine, lemon juice, garlic or mustard instead of salt.

> Don’t be fooled: sea salt and rock salt are no better for you than table salt. IE