Let's talk turkey -- and sodium
Our holiday turkeys are often a major source of sodium in our meals, even before we pick up the salt shaker.
Read the nutrition label on your turkey. Bonnie Brost, a dietitian at the SMDC Heart & Vascular Center, does. She recently visited area grocery stores and found that the sodium content in a 4-ounce serving of turkey can range from 75 milligrams for fresh turkey to 760 milligrams in a frozen smoked turkey breast.
Many turkeys are injected or marinated in solutions that add sodium. They are labeled as "basted" or "self-basted."
| Brand of turkey |
Sodium |
Comments |
Fresh turkey
|
75 mg |
Source: USDA |
| Jenni-O Fresh All Natural Turkey |
75 mg |
In fresh meat case; not basted |
| Free Range Turkey |
75 mg
|
Fresh or frozen; 3% or less water solution. Not basted or prebasted |
| Honeysuckle Fresh Tender and Juicy Young Turkey |
190 mg |
Prebasted |
| Jenni-O Natural Choice Frozen Turkey |
210 mg |
Frozen; 12% solution |
| Jenni-O Premium Fresh Basted Turkey |
230 mg |
Fresh meat; basted; 8% solution |
Butterball Young Turkey
|
320 mg |
Frozen; 7% solution |
| Honeysuckle Extra Tender and Juicy Young Turkey |
360 mg |
Frozen; 8% solution |
Butterball Turkey Breast Roast
|
500 mg |
Frozen; 20% solution |
| Jenni-O Premium Basted Young Turkey |
590 mg |
Frozen; basted; 8% solution |
| Jenni-O Premium Basted Turkey Breast |
660 mg |
Frozen; basted; 15% solution |
| Butterball Smoked Fully-Cooked Turkey |
760 mg |
Frozen |