Each of us likes to relax at our favorite restaurants. A number of the biggest names in restaurants are serving up trouble for a lot of Americans based on the sodium content of their meals. Though Chili’s wants you to “Pepper in some fun,” it turns out that more salt than pepper is being dished out, and instead of Red Lobster being “for the seafood lover in you” it may as well be for the salt lover in us all. Whether you take home a heart attack in a sack from KFC or order a side of stroke at your Olive Garden table, the dangers lurk just inside restaurant kitchen doors.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reports that 85 out of 102 meals at 17 restaurant chains contain more than the daily suggested quantity of sodium. Some single meals were even found to have a sodium content that exceeded four days worth of salt. The research discloses the saltiest meals in America among the 25 largest U.S. chain restaurants that offer the CSPI with the sodium content of their adult and children’s menu items. One meal is considered to be one entrée along with a single side dish and a drink.

Though sodium allows the body to hold onto water and controls the body’s water balance, people need to consume it in moderation. The consumption of high sodium levels can lead to high blood pressure, make existing high blood pressure worse and may even precipitate heart failure in persons with heart conditions.

The national administration recommends healthy individuals to consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily which is about one teaspoon. For children, ages 4-8, consumption should total no more than 1,200 milligrams per day. Though, people with high blood pressure, as well as African-Americans and those of middle age and older, should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily. Yet most Americans consume two to three times the daily recommended amount per one single meal.

The statement as well explained that meals high in fat content were also high in salt, and that those low in fat had a low salt content. For kids meals, there were just as many containing high sodium, and with a greater deadly assortment. Based on the findings in the report, must we give up eating out at our favorite restaurants to remain healthy? Well, not necessarily. We should choose our meal prudently. There are many healthier selections on these restaurant menus that may not taste quite as decadent but will leave you healthy, if not quite as satiated, when you choose to consume them.