Calories in Hidden Valley Salad kit original ranch, family size

WeightWatchers Points are estimated by carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber in product. They are not an affirmation of better quality or nutritional value of the product or its manufacturer. Only way to count for dieters. Less points are better.
Read more at Weight watchers diet review

The average American consumes 5,000 mg of sodium daily — twice the recommended amount amount of 2400mg for healthy adults, this is 1 teaspoon of salt.
For medical reasons many people should not exceed 1500mg of sodium.
Surprisingly, you're responsible for only 15% of the sodium in your diet the bigger part - 75% of the sodium that you consume each day comes from processed foods, not home cooking or the salt shaker.
Excess sodium intake increases the risk of high blood pressure, hypernatremia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and other heart problems.
Are these reasons enough to cut the sodium intake? No doubt!

Salt (NaCl) is not excactly sodium (Na).
It is not right to use these terms as synonyms.
The FDA recommended limit of sodium is 2,300 mg per day (or even less - about 1500 mg while one is on low sodium diets).
This is much less than the weight of salt.
(5,750 mg per day or 3,750 mg for low sodium diet) and not so convenient to calculate.
Know how much sodium is in your salt - without a calculator:
1/4 tsp salt = 600 mg sodium
1/2 tsp salt = 1200 mg sodium
3/4 tsp salt = 1800 mg sodium
1 tsp salt = 2300 mg sodium

Great! Contains less than 1.5 tsp of sugar per serving!

Veggies such as broccoli, bok choy, spinach, parsley and most leafy greens are naturally high in iron.
However, compared to other high-iron foods, like red meat, fish and poultry, the iron in plant foods is not absorbed as easily by the body. What can you do to increase the absorption of iron from these plant foods?

• Vitamin C increases the absorption - so try having a fresh tomato, lemon juice, or an orange together with your high iron food
• Avoid drinking too much coffee - caffeine can decrease the absorption of iron
• In addition to caffeine, the tannins found in tea can also reduce iron absorption
• If you are a vegetarian, try having iron-fortified breakfast cereals, legumes, and eggs

Monosodium Glutamate is used as a flavor enhancer with an umami taste that intensifies the meaty, savory flavor of food.
Naturally occurring glutamate does it in foods such as stews and meat soups.

Despite the fact that MSG is one of the most extensively studied food ingredients and is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by FDA.
Some people should steer away from it as they feel that react adversely to MSG.

MSG is generally found in processed, low-quality foods, stuff that you shouldn’t be eating much.

REMEMBER: Any food ingredient listed as hydrolyzed, protein-fortified, ultra-pasteurized, fermented or enzyme-modified is often MSG, or creates free glutamic acid during processing.

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a chemical added to certain foods and beverages to keep their color and flavor.
EDTA is known as a persistent organic pollutant. It resists degradation from biological, chemical, and photolytic processes.
It may irritate the skin or cause skin rash and even asthma.
It is is generally recognized as safe by FDA, but is on it's list of food additives to be studied for toxicity.

Phosphoric acid is used as an additive to acidify foods and beverages such as various colas and jams.
It provides them a tangy or sour taste and then, to mask and balance the acidity they add a huge amounts of sweeteners.
Remember! It’s a corrosive acid and can form toxic fumes when it comes into contact with alcohols, ketones and other organic compounds.
Phosphoric acid has been linked to lower bone density, dental erosion, risk of developing kidney disease.
BTW: The clear sodas that contained citric acid didn’t have the same risk.

Sources:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Colas, But Not Other Carbonated Beverages, Are Associated With Low Bone Mineral Density in Older Women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Carbonated Beverages and Urinary Calcium Excretion
Epidemiology: Carbonated Beverages and Chronic Kidney Disease
General Dentistry: Commercial Soft Drinks: pH and in Vitro Dissolution Of Enamel
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine: Teenaged Girls, Carbonated Beverage Consumption, and Bone Fractures
Phosphoric acid has been linked to lower bone density in some epidemiological studies, including a discussion in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) is primarily used as an antioxidant food additive, mainly to prevent oils and fats in foods from oxidizing and becoming rancid.
It is GRAS in the US, but forbidden as food additive in Japan (since 1958), Romania, Sweden, and Australia.
Some studies have shown that it is carcinogenic.
Avoid it, there are foods available without this danger.