Current research shows that where salt is readily available, the vast majority of the world's population chooses to consume about 6-10 grams of salt a day. But for the rest of the world, our average intakes are typical. Nutrition is important to good health . Salt is part of a healthy diet . Within foods, salt brine dehydrates bacterial cells, alters osmotic pressure and inhibits bacterial growth and subsequent spoilage.
Salt strengthens gluten in bread dough, providing uniform grain, texture and dough strength.
With salt present, gluten holds more water and carbon dioxide, allowing the dough to expand without tearing. Salt improves the tenderness in cured meats such as ham by promoting the binding of water by protein. It also gives a smooth, firm texture to processed meats. Salt develops the characteristic rind hardness in cheese and helps produce the desirable, even consistency in cheese and other foods such as sauerkraut. Salt helps extract the proteins in processed and formed meats, providing binding strength between adjacent pieces of meat.