Salt and sodium are often used interchangeably, but they are actually different things.
Salt is a mixture of sodium and chloride.
Salt is one of the most common sources of dietary sodium, as it is often added during the cooking or manufacturing process or as a preservation agent. Over 70% of the sodium Americans eat comes form packaged, prepared and restaurants foods, no the salt shaker (1).
We get into trouble when we intake too much of it, no matter what form it comes in.
Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium in our body; if there is too much or we have underlying complications with our kidneys, sodium builds up in our blood leading to a cascade of health problems (2, 3).
Sodium is a vital micronutrient beneficial to proper health, but too much sodium in our diet has been linked to health complications such as high blood pressure and heart disease (4).