Cardiologists Say This Common Restaurant Habit Can Harm Your Arteries Over Time

For most Americans, eating out isn’t a special treat; it’s a way of life. According to The Takeout, the average American eats out five to six times a week. If this reflects your eating habits, your restaurant orders and habits are massively impacting your health. After all, it’s what we do regularly that affects the body the most.

When meals are cooked and prepared at home, it’s easy to control the ingredients and portion sizes. It’s much easier to overindulge when eating out. You may order a soda, sweet tea or alcoholic beverage, even though at home you tend to stick with water. You may dig into the complimentary bread basket or chips and salsa without giving it a second thought, which can lead to consuming more calories than you would otherwise.

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According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, each meal or snack eaten outside the home adds an extra 134 calories to a person’s daily caloric intake. Researchers also found that eating one additional meal out each week translates to roughly two extra pounds each year.

Considering that obesity is a primary risk factor for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, this isn’t exactly great news in terms of heart health. There’s one common restaurant habit in particular that cardiologists say is particularly detrimental to artery health.

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The Popular Restaurant Habit That Directly Damages Arteries

If you tend to reach for the salt shaker before digging into your food, you’re likely damaging your arteries without even realizing it. “Consuming excessive salt has a major impact on blood pressure. This is important because high blood pressure is extremely common and is associated with many health problems, such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure,” says Dr. Steven Borer, DO, FACC, a cardiologist with Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute.

Dr. Karishma Patwa, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder, adds to this, saying, “High sodium diets can not only raise blood pressure but can also cause inflammation and damage to the arteries of the body.”

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Restaurant meals are much higher in sodium than home-cooked meals. A large U.S. nutrition analysis found that restaurant meals have about 412 milligrams more sodium than home-cooked meals. This means that adding salt to your meals when eating out is even more detrimental than using it to flavor your food at home. It also makes staying under the 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day recommended by the American Heart Association more difficult.

How Consuming Too Much Sodium Can Impact Heart Health Over Time

Dr. Borer says that consuming too much sodium impacts blood pressure both immediately and long-term. “High sodium diets can impact blood pressure immediately by expanding the fluid volume in the bloodstream, because salt causes fluid retention. It can also result in the gradual stiffening of arteries, which also increases blood pressure over time,” he explains.

Here’s the good news: Reducing the amount of sodium in your diet can turn your blood pressure numbers around pretty quickly. “Reducing salt can have blood pressure-lowering effects within days because of the reduction in excess salt and fluid in the bloodstream, and can improve arterial stiffness and function within weeks to months,” Dr. Borer says.

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But he adds that the longer someone has had high blood pressure, the longer it may take to improve through reducing sodium. He adds that high blood pressure isn’t always reversible and sometimes still requires medication.

What happens if you continue to add salt to your meals and consume more than recommended? Dr. Patwa says it can significantly increase the risk of stroke or heart attack.

Eating out less often is one way to reduce the amount of sodium you’re consuming. So is not reaching for the salt shaker. Dr. Borer says that many ultra-processed foods (including sauces and condiments) are high in sodium, which is something else to be aware of.

When you’re eating at home, both cardiologists say that using herbs and spices other than salt to give food flavor is a way to not only reduce how much salt you’re consuming but also make your meals even more heart-healthy. This, they say, is because herbs and spices are high in antioxidants, which help reduce blood pressure.

There’s so much enjoyment that comes from eating out. But most people would agree that doing it six times a week is a lot. Going to restaurants a little less frequently is healthier, saves money and makes it more special. It also makes controlling how much sodium you’re consuming a lot easier.

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Sources

This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health & Wellness section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.