Salt Intake and Salt Need

Abstract

IN medieval England, salt was so precious that to be placed "above the salt" at table was a mark of favor and rank.1 By contrast, in modern society a household must be wretched indeed in which the low-liest individual cannot add salt to every mouthful of food. This widespread use of salt has received surprisingly little attention from nutritionists: indeed, in most nutritional surveys salt is not mentioned or is noted only in passing.2 Because of the increasing evidence that salt ingestion is related to the development of hypertension in human beings3 4 5 6 7 there is need for a general assessment of . . .