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For thousands of years, it's been part of our diet, as a seasoning and as a preservative. It's hard to imagine a meal without it.
Unfortunately though, recent research suggests that salt seriously ups the risk of heart attack. And that's a problem because we unknowingly consume far more than is good for us.
We've known for years that it raises blood pressure – but the latest research suggests it also causes heart disease and stroke. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the US looked at two groups of people aged between 30 and 54 over periods of up to four years.
These were people with slightly elevated blood pressures, but who, at the outset of the two studies, were otherwise well.
About half the participants in both studies were told to reduce the salt in their diets and shown how to identify and prepare low-salt foods. The rest ate their normal diets. Ten to 15 years later, the researchers went back to see how many had developed cardiovascular disease – heart attacks, other heart disease and strokes.
Those who ate a low-salt diet had a 25 per cent lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those who stuck to their usual diets.
How does salt increase the risk of heart disease? It's not known for sure – but it could be by raising blood pressure. Salt causes the kidney to retain fluid and this increases blood pressure in the arteries. High blood pressure is one of the causes of heart disease.
A teaspoon a day at most
Do we have to cut it out altogether? No. It's a compund occurring naturally in the body (after all we evolved in the sea, which has its fair share of salt). But we don’t need to consume any more than 2,300mg per day, nutritionists say. This works out to about one teaspoon of table salt a day.
If all the salt we ate came from the salt shaker on the table, this would be simple. The problem is, though, that three quarters of the salt we eat comes not from the salt shaker but from processed food and restaurant meals. And we're eating more and more of this type of food. Food manufacturers routinely put lots of salt in foods to make it flavoursome. So the amount of salt we eat is increasing as the years go by.
With some foods you can check the salt content by reading the label on the bottle or pack. A low salt food has a level of less than 120mg per 100g.
But on the whole, people are not good at reading food labels. Some foods aren't labelled. So when it comes to knowing how much salt we're really ingesting, most of us haven't a clue.
As a general rule of thumb, to get down to safe levels of salt consumption, you'd be wise to:
Cut out manufactured and takeaway foods. If you must use prepared foods, buy 'low-salt' varieties.
Don't eat fast food, snacks, or packet foods like instant pasta, noodles or soups (they have lots of salt).
Eat low-salt brown or multigrain bread instead of white bread.
Cut out processed meats like salami and sausages (they have a high salt content).
Use fresh vegetables rather than canned (salt is often added to canned veggies, especially tomatoes).
Don’t add salt to food – instead, add favour using herbs and spices like garlic, oregano and lemon juice.
All this is especially important if you are at risk of heart disease – if you smoke, are overweight, or have diabetes or high blood pressure or if heart disease runs in the family.
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MILLIONS of weight-conscious consumers believe it is a healthy choice: low in kilojoules and sugar-free.
But diet cola can make you fat and rot your teeth, according to new research.
A study by consumer group Choice warns drinking artificially sweetened soft drinks can stimulate the appetite, triggering cravings for sweet foods
Ironically, this can lead to consumers putting on more weight than they would have by drinking regular cola.
"You're more likely to lose weight if you avoid these drinks altogether. Maybe drink water or get your caffeine fix from a cup of coffee," the study says.
And despite having no sugar, diet drinks are not safe for teeth because they contain phosphoric acid or citric acid, which cause tooth enamel to erode.
"It's different from decay, but can be just as bad for your teeth," the report warns.
A can of regular Coca-Cola contains about eight teaspoons of sugar and 675kj.
A can of Diet Coke has less than 10kj, but contains artificial sweeteners, stimulates appetite and increases cravings for sweet foods.
Diet colas usually contain at least two sweeteners that can be many hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.
These can be identified by the code numbers on labels: acesulphame potassium (950), aspartame (951), cyclamate (952), saccharin (954) and sucralose (955).
Some have been linked to increased risk of cancer in rats.
The study, called Diet Cola Myths, also raised concerns about children exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of the sweetener cyclamate.
"The ADI is the 'safe' level recommended by scientific experts. There's a substantial safety margin and consuming more than the ADI over a short period isn't necessarily a health risk, but on a regular basis there might be cause for concern," the study states.
Cyclamate was banned in some countries until the mid-1990s after a study found it increased the risk of bladder cancer in rats.
Subsequent research has found no conclusive evidence that it poses a risk to humans.
Experts agree the cancer risks of artificial sweeteners are low, especially when balanced against the risks of being overweight, but they do recommend limiting consumption of foods and drinks containing sweeteners.
"Diet cola might not be as helpful in the fight against flab as you'd think, kids risk overdosing on the artificial sweeteners, and it's still harmful for your teeth," the report says.
To establish whether big-name diet colas like Diet Coke and Pepsi Max taste better than cheaper alternatives, Choice conducted a blind taste-test among 277 Sydney shoppers.
Rival brands included generics such as Black & Gold, Australia's Choice, Home Brand and You'll Love Coles.
Tasters were unable to differentiate between the 11 drinks.
No single brand tasted better or worse than average, even among label-conscious groups such as those aged 18 and under.
But big brands are more popular because of their advertising power.
Coca-Cola Amatil spent more than $18 million just on promoting Coke Zero last year, according to Choice
news.com.au