We all know hospital food tastes bad, but a new study shows it actually is bad for you.

Researchers at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital found hospital patients get too much sodium in their food, even if they are on sodium-restricted diets.

The study examined salt levels in regular, diabetic and sodium-restricted diets at three large acute care hospitals in Ontario between 2010 and 2011.

The recommended daily amount of sodium is 1,500 mg. The tolerable daily upper limit is 2,300 mg. That’s about a teaspoon of salt.

“We suspected that sodium levels may be high in hospital food because hospitals are using more prepared and outsourced foods on their menu,” said JoAnne Arcand, the study’s lead author from the University of Toronto. Processed, frozen and packaged foods are known to be saltier, she said.

The study shows that 100 per cent of diabetic and regular standard menus contained double the recommended daily sodium intake.

Sodium consumption in patients following a sodium-restricted diet fell within their guidelines, unless they were selecting their own foods from the menu. In those cases, 47 per cent exceeded their prescribed levels of salt. Arcand said it may be because they were selecting more food.

“It’s very ironic that the foods we serve in hospitals — which are places where we ostensibly try to help our patients —are unhealthy. I think that’s a cause for concern,” said Andrew Pipe, chief of prevention and rehabilitation at the Ottawa Heart Institute.

“Hospitals are all about trying to provide leadership and example,” he said.

Sodium-restricted diets are especially important for people with heart, liver and kidney problems as they are more sensitive to high amounts of sodium.

It appears Canadians aren’t eating much healthier outside hospital. The average Canadian consumes 4,000 mg of sodium a day, about two tablespoons of salt, said Doug Weir, president of the Ontario Medical Association.

The OMA launched a campaign a year ago to educate Canadians about excessive salt consumption and its associated risks.

“This is really a society-wide problem,” said Weir.

Too much salt causes high blood pressure, which can lead to strokes and heart disease, he said. Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians already have high blood pressure or are at a high risk of developing it, according to the OMA.

If all Canadians followed salt consumption guidelines, Pipe said strokes would likely drop 14 per cent and heart attacks would decline 11 per cent.

Canadians get most of their salt from processed and packaged foods, according to the OMA.

“The food industry does need to step up and lower the amount of sodium they put in foods provided in hospitals,” said Arcand, adding hospitals and government must develop guidelines to control where hospitals get their food.