Journal-News.com

A study by Consumer Reports magazine has found large amounts of sodium in unexpected foods that could sabotage consumers' efforts to control high blood pressure and other health risk factors.

The study singled out products such as Kellogg's Raisin Bran, a cup of which contains 350 milligrams (mg) of sodium, and a Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain White Bagel, which contains 440 mg.

In all, Consumer Reports analyzed 37 supermarket staples and found larger-than-expected levels of sodium lurking in several, including many that were labeled as lower-fat products, the magazine said. Dietary guidelines recommend that healthy adults get no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day, the amount in just one teaspoon of table salt, Consumer Reports said.

The hidden sodium could derail some people's efforts to eat healthy and "sets up some of my patients for failure," said Dr. Susan Williams, assistant professor in Wright State University's Boonshoft School of Medicine and director of the Center for Nutrition and Metabolic Medicine at Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia.

"This is a very significant study that should raise the awareness of every physician and medical caregiver to help them guide their patients," Williams said.

A high-sodium diet might increase a person's risk of high blood pressure — and subsequent heart attack, kidney disease and stroke — as well as risk of asthma, kidney stones, osteoporosis and stomach cancer, Consumer Reports officials said.

The full report on the study is available in the January 2009 issue of Consumer Reports and online at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.