I haven't added salt to food in 15 years. I have high blood pressure and don't want to risk any possible increase. Besides, a lot of food we eat already has enough salt in it and I haven't missed it. If I add anything at all, it's pepper or one of the many flavors that Mrs. Dash gives us.

The Salt Institute has a large FAQ page about salt. You can find out what salt exactly is, how much is produced in the U.S., effects it has on the human body, how animals react to salt, how much salt an athlete needs. There's even a huge list of recipes that contain salt. Recipes that contain salt? Wouldn't that be too big a list to have even on the web? Actually, they're recipes for food where salt is a vital ingredient.

Last week's Chicago Tribune published a long feature on our addiction to salt, which seems to be growing, despite the AMA's request that salt to be stripped of its "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status. The article goes into some detail about why we are addicted, how salt is necessary for our bodies, and how cutting out excess salt could improve health. However, the most helpful part of the article is the list of simple ways to cut back on salt in your diet:

• Eat fewer boxed and canned foods.
• Use fresh meats instead of canned, cured, smoked or processed.
• Rather than adding salt during cooking, sprinkle it on at the table.
• Use fresh or plain frozen vegetables instead of canned.
• Rinse canned vegetables, which will remove sodium that was added during processing.
• Make your own salad dressing and marinades.
• Make your own stock and gravy.
• At restaurants, order grilled, baked, steamed or poached instead of fried, battered, smothered or gratineed.

Additionally, the article lists some common food items, both at home and in restaurants, that are veritable salt bombs.