Unfairly demonized?
I’ve been a salt-restriction skeptic for a couple decades. The American Council on Science and Health has a brief review of the latest research on salt restriction, and it’s not supportive of population-wide sodium restriction.
Remember, table salt molecules contain one sodium atom and one chloride atom. Salt-restricted and low-sodium diets are usually designated by the amount of sodium, not salt.
That being said, I do believe some individuals have elevated blood pressure related to relatively high sodium intake. This may apply to one of every five adults with high blood pressure. To find out if you’re one of the five, you could go on a low-sodium diet—1.5 to 3 grams a day—for one or two months and see what it does to your blood pressure. Get your personal physician’s blessing first.
Advanced Mediterranean Diet 