Kraft's prepackaged South Beach Diet foods high in sodium, experts say

• There are 950 to 1,350 milligrams of sodium per serving in the eight new South Beach Diet frozen entrees and 1,260 to 1,530 milligrams in the four refrigerated wraps - 50 percent to 100 percent more in some cases than comparable Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers products.
• "That's very high," said cardiologist Salah Amer, board president of the American Heart Association.
• This puts you at risk of high blood pressure."
• Hypertension directly increases a person's risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, according to the heart association.
• Agatston's position: Obesity is the overriding threat, and his goal is to help people lose weight.
• That's the key, he said, to reversing the so-called metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms including above-normal weight, blood sugar and blood pressure that are considered a harbinger of heart disease and diabetes.
• "The big health problem in the country today is diabetes and pre-diabetes obesity," Agatston said.
• Obesity is only part of the picture where high blood pressure is concerned, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and one of the nation's leading authorities on diet and health.
• Agriculture Department guidelines, part of the newly revamped food pyramid, recommend a daily sodium intake of no more than 2,300 milligrams.
• "If you have one of these meals a day and the rest of your meals have no salt, that's OK," Amer said.
• Normal people have breakfast, lunch and dinner."
• Indeed, if you ate a bowl of raisin bran and milk for breakfast (400 milligrams), grabbed a six-inch turkey sub and a small bag of chips for lunch (1,200 milligrams), and snacked on a single-serving bag of microwave popcorn (320 milligrams), having Kraft's South Beach Diet Caprese-style chicken (1,350 milligrams) for dinner would put your sodium intake for the day at 3,270 milligrams - more than 40 percent over the limit.