The salt discourse in 2013.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has recommended that adults consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day and that individuals in the following subgroups consume no more than 1,500 mg/day: persons aged ≥51 years; persons with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease; and blacks.1 These subgroups account for approximately half of the US population. There is some increasing evidence, however, that suggests that low-sodium diets are associated with adverse health outcomes. Consequently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to undertake a study “to examine the designs, methodologies, and conclusions in this latest body of research on dietary sodium intake and health outcomes.”2 The IOM report concluded the following: