Health experts have raised concerns about the high salt content at some of the country’s most popular chain restaurants. They said we may be getting nearly four times the amount of salt we need in a day in one single sitting.

The recommended daily allowance for salt is one teaspoon according to dietary guidelines and consumption of high salt over time can trigger heart attacks, strokes or kidney failure.

The study by the Center for Science and Public Interest found some popular chain restaurants adding up four and five day’s worth of salt in one meal.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest told ABC News, "If the meal was high in fat, it was high in salt. If it was low in fat, it was low in salt. Salt city at restaurants."

Health experts said the reason that chain restaurants used so much salt could be due to a variety of reasons such as using the inexpensive iodized salt and MSG. Another reason was as national chain restaurants often use frozen foods which need to be more heavily seasoned or salted to bring out the flavor.

At Hinterland restaurant in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, Chef Dan Van Rite said they use higher quality salt and therefore use less. "With the iodized salt and the MSG and all that stuff -- you have to use a lot more of it. You don't have control of it, whereas the flake salt that we use you has a lot more finger touch. I guess so you can use a lot less," Van Rite said.

He added that pre-cooked and pre-seasoned foods are also culprits with high salt content. He recommended cooking tips whereby using less salt one can enhance the flavor of the food. "Acid brings out flavor. So a little squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar or something in your dish can go a long way without adding a lot more salt," Van Rite said.

Dr. Keith Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at Albert Einstein College of Medicine said salt is an inexpensive flavor enhancer that your taste buds quickly get used to and crave  and it can be tricky to monitor how much you're consuming. He pointed out that a healthy stir-fry can be loaded with salt and so can broth-based soups. "It's not something like fat where you can kind of see a greasy food and you know it's there," Ayoob said.

It’s not always the fast food chains that are guilty of adding too much salt but some of the sit down restaurants are just as much to blame.

Red Lobster's communications director Mark Jaronski said in a statement, "Red Lobster offers many options for those watching their sodium intake, including up to eight species of fresh fish in each restaurant and a Lighthouse menu with selections less than 500 calories and 750mg of sodium."

He added that both the American Heart Association and the American Dietetic Association recommend eating seafood at least twice a week.

The best bet feel health experts is to cook fresh food at home and avoid frozen, packaged and restaurant food as much as possible to stay healthy.