[Dagger]

I heard when ever a recipe gives the amount of Sodium it has Diamond Crystal Salt measurements is uaed as the base. In that case the box said 1/4 teaspoon is 1.1 g, which has 430 mg sodium. With this base a TV dinner with 2130 mg sodium contains almost 1 Tbs. + 1/2 Tsp. of salt, WOW! I have never had or even seen a recipe that called for that much salt. What do you think about this

[phatch]

The usual conversion 2000 mg sodium per teaspoon of TABLE salt. 1/4 teaspoon is usually 500 mg. If you're measuring with Diamond coasrse, 430 sounds about right for 1/4 teaspoon. BUt for your listed tV dinner, That's just over 1 teaspoon for hte meal. The FDA recommends 2000-2500 milligrams!!!( teaspoons! what a typo that was) per day total. So yes that's highish. But it's not tablespoons. You got a little excited in your division or made a typo.

But that number is not just added salt. A standard 4 oz piece of meat is 200-300 mgs sodium before any seasononing is added. A serving of "canned" vegies will be a couple of hundred mgs. An 8 oz glass of milk is 150. A biscuit will be 250 mgs, a slice of bread 200-300.

If there is mashed potato or pasta on the TV dinner, those are heavily salted so they have some flavor The sauce will have a good chunk of salt too.

[kokopuffs]

Salt acts as a preservative. Think of salt curing pork to make it last longer; think also of brine injected pork to increase its shelf life. Salt stimulates the appetite: popcorn. Bet you can't eat just one kernel!