摘要：Sodium ingestion in regular diet exceeds individuals’
physiological needs, and it is etiologically related to various diseases.
Studies estimate that the worldwide average individual intake of sodium reaches
almost double the maximum limit of ingestion for the day only in the main
meals: lunch and dinner. Culturally, sodium is highly used in meals to enhance the flavor of preparations. Then,
the purposes of this research are to evaluate sodium use in meals prepared in
Popular Brazilian Restaurants and to suggest the distribution of sodium for
each kind of preparation of major meals. This is an exploratory
cross-sectional research based on direct documentation subdivided in six
steps: determination of samples of foodservices and menus; development of
the technical preparation files offered in the menus; determination of the
weight of average portions offered; determination of the average amount of
sodium in the portions offered; estimation of sodium distribution regarding
two parameters; and determination of the sodium distribution among
preparations of major meals by the two proposed parameters. For results’
analysis, portions were calculated as well as the mean contribution of the
preparation in the plate weight in percentage and the mean sodium contribution.
Standard deviation is also presented. We verified through the study the
possibility of using the distribution of sodium by two parameters: the first
one considers the ratio of components’ weight in the menu in relation to the
total weight of the meal; the second one considers the distribution of sodium
in preparations in relation to the total amount of sodium in the meal. We
expect the results of this research to improve menu planning in restaurants as
to fulfill the actual clients’ needs in order to prevent diseases.
