Salt: It's the not-so-secret ingredient in tasty treats like chicken fingers, onion rings and tomato juice.

But today one group advocating healthy eating says that at some chain restaurants, we may be getting nearly four times the amount of salt we need in a day in one single sitting.

"If the meal was high in fat, it was high in salt. If it was low in fat, it was low in salt. Salt city at restaurants," Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest told ABC News.

CSPI released a report this morning detailing which restaurants are the worst offenders when it comes to meals packed with sodium.

Instead of eating those meals, some suggest steering clear of salty foods and choosing healthier alternatives when eating out, cooking at home and even opting for drive-through where portions are smaller.

U.S. dietary guidelines recommend healthy adults get a maximum daily dose of about 2,300 mg of salt. But some of the meals on CSPI's list had more than 6,000 mg. With large portion sizes, sit-down restaurants like Red Lobster, Chili's and Olive Garden can be more of a problem than fast food.

Doctors like Keith Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, worry because too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure, potentially leading to heart attack and stroke.

But salt is an inexpensive flavor enhancer that your taste buds quickly get used to and crave -- and it can be tricky to monitor how much you're consuming, Ayoob said.

Two cases in point: An otherwise healthy stir-fry can be loaded with salt and so can broth-based soups.

"It's not something like fat where you can kind of see a greasy food and you know it's there," Ayoob told ABC News.

That's one reason restaurants that made the list say they work hard to keep customers informed and offer healthy choices.

Red Lobster, for instance, posts nutritional content for all of its meals on its Web site, redlobster.com, and in its restaurants. An online calculator also lets customers add up what they're consuming in a full meal and swap in healthier alternatives.

"Red Lobster offers many options for those watching their sodium intake, including up to eight species of fresh fish in each restaurant and a Lighthouse menu with selections less than 500 calories and 750mg of sodium," Red Lobster's communications director Mark Jaronski said in a statement.

盐:在调制美味中没那么神秘,就像炸鸡条、洋葱圈和番茄汁。

但是,今天一个倡导健康饮食的小组说,在一些连锁餐馆,我们一顿饭可能正摄入一天中所需盐量的近4倍。

公共利益科学中心执行主任迈克尔雅各布森告诉美国广播公司新闻中心,“如果餐中富含脂肪,也就富含盐份。如果是低脂肪,盐含量就低,盐城就在餐馆里 ”,

今天上午美国科学普及中心发表了一份报告,在提到餐中调入纳的问题时详细说明了餐馆是罪魁祸首。

摒弃那种不健康的膳食,报告中一些内容建议食用无盐食物以及选择较健康的方案,无论外出就餐、在家烹调甚至驾车路边遇到份量小的食物。

美国饮食指南推荐健康的成年人每天最多摄入2300毫克的盐。但美国科学普及中心清单中一些膳食已超过6000毫克。对于大规模、静坐餐馆像Red Lobster, Chili's and Olive Garden比快餐的问题更严重。

正如阿尔伯特爱因斯坦医学院的营养诊所主任医生基思Ayoob表示,担忧是因为食入过多的盐能促使血压升高,可能导致心脏病和中风。

Ayoob说但盐是一种帮助您味蕾迅速适应和打开食欲的廉价香料-监控你正摄入多少盐量可能会尤为困难。

这方面有两个问题:一个健康的炒菜除了可以加盐,还要配个汤。

Ayoob告诉美国广播公司新闻中心, “这不像在脂肪里您可以看到油腻的食品,你知道它的存在 ”

这就是餐馆为什么列了清单表明他们努力让顾客了解情况并提供健康备选食物。

例如Red Lobster,其网站上redlobster.com和餐馆里贴出所有膳食的营养含量,一个在线计算器也可以让顾客汇总出一顿饭中摄入了什么而从健康的备选食物中调换。

Red Lobster交流主任马克Jaronski在一份声明中说“Red Lobster为那些关注他们钠摄入量的人提供了许多备选食物,其中包括在每个餐厅都有8种新鲜的鱼和一个选择少于500卡路里热量和750mg钠的灯塔菜单, ”。