Salt is 1 to life. The human body needs so little salt to 2 that it is very easy to consume too much of it. An excess of salt in the diet can lead to high blood pressure, which in turn can 3 the risk of heart disease. Cooking with salt also reduces the nutritional quality of the food. For example, spinach boiled in salted water loses 50% of its iron, compared to 19% when boiled in salt-free water.
Many people have the habit of 4 salt to their food when they are at the table. Some even do this before they have tasted the food. This is one of the reasons why the average person in Britain eats two and a half to three teaspoons of salt every day. The 5 recommended dose is one and a half, and the ideal dose is just half a teaspoon.