Salt is a mineral essential to the body’s ability to function properly. It is important to have a proper balance of salt in one’s diet. Although people often refer to salt and sodium interchangeably, table salt (sodium chloride) is 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride.                    

The mineral sodium occurs naturally in food. It is essential because of its role in regulating the fluid balance of cells and plasma. Salt regulates both blood pressure and blood volume. Too little sodium in the body can result in dehydration because the cells are unable to retain water. Proper fluid balance is important to nutrition because it move nutrients into the cells and carries waste products out of the cells. Sodium also helps regulate nerve and muscle function.

Sodium belongs to a group of minerals called electrolytes, which also includes chloride and potassium. These minerals help transmit electrical currents in the body, which is vital to transmitting nerve impulses and helping muscles (include the heart muscle) to relax or contract.

Throughout history, salt has played a role in people’s diets. For centuries before the advent of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve foods such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Salt can help protect foods from bacteria, yeast and molds, preventing food spoilage and foodborne illness. At one time, salt was so highly valued that it was used as currency.

Beginning in the late 1700s, people began to prefer less salty food and other methods of food preservation became available, including canning, the use of ice in cold climates, and by the 20^th century, freezing and refrigeration. Eventually, salt was used more for industrial purposes than in preserving the food supply. However, it is still used as a preservative in cured foods (ham, sausage, bacon and corned beef) and vegetables such as pickles (which are preserved in a salt/water combination known as brine). Sodium commonly occurs as ann ingredient in many processed and frozen foods.

Other roles that salt plays in food include:

• Affects texture. For example, yeast (leavened) breads with salt have a finer texture than those without salt.
  
  
• Controls fermentation speed. Fermentation is a process that changes the chemistry of a food, altering its appearance and flavor. Salt helps control this process in cheeses, bread dough and sauerkraut.
  
  
• Increases and stabilizes volume. Salt performs this function in whipping egg whites or cream.

While moderate amounts of sodium promote good health, too much sodium may increase the risk of high blood pressure in some people. Also, overweight people who eat too much salt are at greater risk of heart disease or stroke, and people with high blood pressure are at greater risk of kidney damage.

The body only requires about half a gram of sodium per day, and the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that people consume no more than 2.3 grams (about 1 teaspoon of salt per day). However, the average American consumes at least 9 grams of sodium per day, with many Americans eating 6 to 18 grams on a daily basis. Therefore, most Americans need to reduce their salt intake.

Recently, the American Medical Association announced an initiative to cut the nation’s sodium intake by half over the next decade.  The plan is to reduce salt in processed foods, fast foods and restaurant meals.  As part of this effort, the AMA is urging the government to mandate warning labels on foods high in salt. The AMA also plans to petition the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove salt from the list of foods “generally recognized as safe.”

Previously, the National Institutes of Health announced a plan to encourage manufacturers, restaurants and consumers to reduce sodium intake by 5 percent a year over the next decade.

Dietary salt intake is such a concern worldwide that an international organization of medical experts formed World Action on Salt and Health (WASH), established in 2005. Experts from 48 different nations are part of this organization, which aims to reduce dietary salt intake among all adults to 5 grams per day.