Ryan Dennis, like many people, is guilty of having too much sodium in his diet.

After all, salt is in just about everything we eat and more often than not it’s littered in convenience foods.

"Unfortunately I’ll stop by and grab a McDonald’s burger if I can or Wendy's. You know basically whatever is handy. I try to limit my portion size, but it's still not the healthy choice that it could be," he admits.

If Dennis is unable to sit down and eat breakfast or pack a lunch, he'll most likely grab something on the go. Dietitian Vanessa Hurley says this can be dangerous.

"More than 75 per cent of the sodium that Canadians consume comes from processed foods, convenient foods and restaurant foods. In families today, the typical family, more than 60 per cent of their grocery store purchase are processed foods."

Hurley says Canadians want to aim for 1,500 milligrams a day. However, she says the average Canadian consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium.

Children between age one and three need about 1,000 milligrams of sodium a day. Children over the age of four require 1,200 milligrams.

"A typical breakfast sandwich that has, you know sausage, egg and cheese, even something as healthy as a whole grain bagel, has just over 1,000 milligrams of sodium. “If you stop at Subway for lunch or dinner, just over 2,000 milligrams in a foot long.”

Because of his family's health history, Dennis' doctor has also told him to be careful.

"Family doctor just wanted to make sure that I was on a healthy eating plan, and taking care of myself because I am at the much of a higher risk than most of the general population.”

Hurley says too much salt can lead to several health problems.

"Too much sodium is associated with high blood pressure, which can also lead to heart disease and strokes. Additionally it's also associated with osteoporosis, kidney disease, and some cancers."

As with sugar, dietitians say to be vigilant when checking nutrition tables to see how much sodium is in the food your about to eat.

The best advice is to take the time to make meals from scratch and try to cut out the processed foods.