North Americans eat too much salt most of the time. If you really want to cut back you need to be a savvy shopper.

The maximum recommended amount of sodium per day is about 2,300 milligrams, but 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams per day is considered ideal. And it's not enough to just put away the salt shaker: a lot of the salt we eat shows up in unexpected foods. For example, even a careful shopper might not worry about sodium in a box of Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding, but a look at the label shows a surprising 310 milligrams per serving.

And a Celeste pizza-for-one packs in a pile of sodium with 1,230 milligrams. Most adults shouldn't have much more than that in a whole day.

"If we get too much, we run the risk of increasing our blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease, or causing problems in terms of kidney stones or osteoporosis," Dr. John Santa of Consumer Reports said.

Consumer Reports' Linda Greene went shopping for lower-sodium alternatives. She found Tumaro tortillas that contained just 160 milligrams of sodium, a lot less than a similar brand that clocked in at a whopping 630 milligrams each.

"That's a big difference!" Greene said.

The Rice-A-Roni Rice Pilaf contains 970 milligrams of sodium in a single serving. Compare that to Near East's Whole Grain Wheat Couscous original plain flavour. It doesn't have any!

And in place of that instant Jell-O with 310 milligrams of sodium, Greene found a look-alike package Jell-O's Cook and Serve with just 110 milligrams of sodium.

Greene says it pays to read the nutrition facts, but be cautious about other labels.

"Keep in mind that healthy-sounding labels aren't always low in sodium," Greene said.

For instance, V8 calls itself "Heart Healthy" but it has actually got a hefty 420 milligrams of sodium in just one cup.

Here's another tip: rinse canned foods, like tuna and beans, in water to help remove excess sodium.

And if you're dining out, ask the waiter to have your food prepared without added salt and to bring dressings or sauces on the side, because that's where hidden sodium can lurk.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen