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| Denny's Breakfast. Photo: jumanggy/flickr |
Nick DeBenedetto, of Tinton Falls, N.J., a 48-year-old on medication for high-blood pressure, filed the suit Thursday in the New Jersey Superior Court in Middlesex County.
"Denny's menu deceptively presents various items as single meals to be consumed by one individual without disclosing that they contain substantially more sodium (in some cases two or three times more) than the maximum recommended amount for all meals consumed by an individual during a given day," his complaint states.
Denny's Corporation, based out of Spartanburg, S.C., told the Los Angeles Times the suit is "frivolous and without merit."
One of the high-salt items listed in the suit is the "Meat Lover's Scramble" -- two eggs scrambled with bacon, diced ham, crumbled sausage and topped with Cheddar cheese, served alongside two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns and two buttermilk pancakes.
Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. The Meat Lover's Scramble has 5,690 milligrams of sodium -- nearly three times the amount of salt advised in one day, the complaint states.
Sodium is associated with high blood pressure, and with high blood pressure comes the risk of heart disease and stroke.
"It is unconscionable that a single meal would have 2,000 milligrams or more of sodium," Dr. David Katz, a preventive medicine specialist at Yale University Medical School told the paper.
Denny's has approximately 1,500 restaurants worldwide.
Although high salt consumption is a problem, health experts are urging that sodium is just one risk factor and the high number of calories and fat people consume daily should not be disregarded. Tell Slashfood what you think: Is sodium content something that should be regulated?
[Via Los Angeles Times]
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