The Healthiest And Unhealthiest Campbell's Soups
When you're standing in front of a giant wall of Campbell's Soups at the supermarket, it's tricky to know which soups are healthier than others without checking each individual label. So we've done the work for you and figured out which of their soups have the most and least amount of calories, divided into each of their product categories including Condensed, Chunky, and Homestyle.
The Healthiest and Unhealthiest Campbell's Soups (Slideshow)
One thing that you should be on the lookout for when eating any canned soup is the sodium level, which is high across the board. Unless you're a member of the enlightened minority, chances are you're eating more than your daily allowance of sodium. In doing so, you're pretty much quickly volunteering your body for high blood pressure, which then lends itself to cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death in the world, according to the American Heart Association.
Pretty heavy stuff.
Don't worry, you're not being singled out. According to the American Heart Association, "Adults worldwide consume almost double the daily recommended amount of sodium. The AHA recommends limiting sodium to less than 1,500 milligrams a day and The Word Health Organization recommends limiting sodium to less than 2,000 milligrams a day. Guess how many milligrams a day Americans consume on average? According to research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the answer is 3,436 milligrams.
If commercial soups like Campbell's play a frequent role in your diet, then you need to be aware of how one serving alone may be tipping you over your sodium allowance and putting you at risk for ailments far more grave then you feeling bloated in your skinny jeans.
The problem is not only that the average consumer eats this stuff, but that he or she does so believing they're making a healthy choice. Campbell's soups are, typically, calorically low, with some soup types averaging 60 to 80 calories per cup. Not bad, right? Campbell's offers fat-free versions of their classics, too. Some soups are both low calorie and fat free which, as a society, we're hard-wired to translate into healthy. But that's only a small piece of the puzzle when we look at overall health: to maintain an appetizing flavor, they'll bloat a product with sodium.
So while looking at our ranking of the healthiest and unhealthiest Campbell's soups, keep in mind that while they may be healthy when it comes to calorie and veggie content, the sodium levels remain off the charts.