Any idea how much sodium is in that?

I once heard that if a person is deprived of salt for a long enough period of time, they will develop zombie-like characteristics (sans the desire to much on brains, of course). I have absolutely no idea how true this is (my guess is not even remotely), so for all you big brothers out there who are already masterminding the next trick to play on your little brother, I wouldn't go ditching all the salt just yet. Besides, we need salt in our diets for our bodies to function properly. However, we clearly have little to worry about in terms of turning into catatonic nightwalkers. In fact, the opposite is the real problem -- we eat far too much salt.

Studies show that most people consume much more sodium than the RDA of 4,000mg. And it's not because we're dousing our food with the white stuff (although I'm sure that doesn't help); rather, it's because many of the foods we're eating are already very high in sodium. Just a quick look at some of the following foods are a solid indication of that fact.

• 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing = 500mg
• 2 handfuls of potato chips = 360mg
• Large glass of tomato juice = 1,300mg
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce = 2,000mg
• 8 slices of salami = 1,800mg
• 85g of blue cheese = 1,550mg

So, to avoid the possibility of turning into a zombie-like version of your former self, be sure to include an adequate amount of sodium in your diet. But, to maintain overall health and wellness, take stock of how much salt you're actually eating, as it's likely that you're already getting far more than what is recommended.