Most people who care about their health are familiar with the difference between good and bad fats. They know that saturated and trans fats can harm the body, while omega-3s and unsaturated fats are beneficial. Similarly, many understand the distinction between simple and complex carbs. However, the relationship between salt and high blood pressure is much harder to figure out. Today, salt is cheap and widely available, but for our early ancestors, it was a rare and valuable resource.
Interestingly, the word “salary” comes from the Latin word for salt. After the industrial revolution, salt became easier to obtain and was used heavily for food preservation, driving consumption up to over 7,000 milligrams per day in the 19th century. Even now, salt is a crucial ingredient for flavoring meals. In the U.S., the average daily intake of salt is about 3,436 milligrams. Globally, people use an estimated 185–190 million tons of salt mined from the earth or harvested from the sea.
### What’s the Difference Between Salt and Sodium?
Salt is a simple compound made of one sodium atom and one chloride atom, forming sodium chloride (NaCl). While the chloride atom makes up most of the molecule’s weight, it’s the sodium part that matters most for health. Whether the source is table salt, MSG, or baking soda, sodium plays the key role. This is why food labels and health recommendations often focus on sodium content rather than the total amount of salt.
To put it in perspective, 1,000 milligrams of sodium equals 2.5 grams of salt. Chemically speaking, a salt forms when positively and negatively charged atoms combine, but when it comes to diet and health, sodium is the element we need to monitor.
### Why Sodium is Important for Health
Sodium is essential for the body to function. An average adult’s body contains about 250 grams of sodium, which helps maintain bodily fluids like blood, sweat, and tears. Sodium also regulates water absorption in the digestive tract and plays a critical role in preventing dehydration and low blood pressure. It’s a major component in plasma, the liquid part of blood, and is crucial for keeping cells hydrated.
The human tongue is designed to detect sodium. About 25% of your taste buds are tuned to salt, which explains why we crave salty foods when our body needs sodium. If the body is running low on sodium, it automatically conserves it by sweating and secreting less of it. Because water follows sodium, this balance is critical to maintaining proper hydration. The body also has mechanisms in place—like signals from blood vessels and the brain—to manage sodium levels, telling the kidneys to hold onto or expel it as needed.
While some past studies argued that eating salt can increase blood pressure, modern research is challenging these claims. In fact, some scientists suggest that several other factors—such as calcium, potassium, exercise, body weight, alcohol consumption, and stress—also play significant roles in blood pressure regulation. Furthermore, people’s sodium sensitivity varies widely. Some individuals are more prone to blood pressure spikes from high sodium intake, while others show little to no response.
### Salt, Sodium, and Blood Pressure—Is There a Link?
Many landmark studies suggest that reducing sodium doesn’t necessarily lead to lower blood pressure. For example, a long-running study from the Framingham Heart Study found that most people consume an appropriate amount of salt for their bodies. Interestingly, participants who consumed less than 2,500 milligrams of sodium daily were more likely to have higher blood pressure. Those who consumed between 2,500 and 4,000 milligrams of sodium daily had healthier blood pressure levels than those on low-sodium diets. Furthermore, people with diets rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium tended to have lower blood pressure.
These findings contradict recommendations from organizations like the American Heart Association, which advocates for consuming less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily to lower the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Other studies, such as a meta-analysis of seven trials involving over 6,000 people, found no strong evidence that reducing salt reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death—whether in people with normal or high blood pressure.
Even European studies have questioned the supposed dangers of sodium. One study found that lower sodium intake was linked to a greater chance of dying from heart disease. Similarly, the 1988 INTERSALT study revealed no consistent link between high sodium consumption and high blood pressure. Some populations with higher salt intakes actually had lower average blood pressure than those consuming less salt. Other reviews, such as the Cochrane analysis, have similarly found little to no long-term health benefits to low-sodium diets.
### Is the Salt-Blood Pressure Connection Overstated?
The debate over salt and its effects on blood pressure has persisted for decades, largely because studies remain inconsistent. While some research supports the idea that excessive salt can contribute to high blood pressure, just as many studies dispute this claim. For instance, data from the 1980s, including studies from Scotland and Japan involving 15,000 participants, found only a weak connection between salt intake and blood pressure.
Adding to the confusion, studies suggest that low-sodium diets might have unintended consequences, such as increased risk of heart disease. In fact, some research has found that individuals consuming salt within a moderate range tend to fare better than those consuming very low levels of sodium.
The controversy over salt became widely discussed in 1998 when author Gary Taubes raised concerns in the journal *Science* about whether the evidence against salt was overstated. More recent studies maintain that extremely low-sodium diets are not necessarily better for heart health and might even be harmful for some people.
### The Verdict: Is Salt Really That Bad?
After decades of research involving over 150 randomized trials and numerous population studies, there’s still no definitive conclusion linking salt to chronic high blood pressure or heart disease. While excessive salt remains a concern for some groups—such as the elderly or those with pre-existing heart conditions—the connection between salt consumption and chronic hypertension is far from proven.
Many health organizations continue to promote low-sodium diets partly because early studies suggested it might reduce risks. However, more recent analyses argue that these fears may have been overstated. Ultimately, the debate over salt persists, fueled by conflicting evidence and varying individual health factors. Until science provides a clearer answer, the best approach might be moderation—balancing salt intake while maintaining an overall healthy diet.