The salt is already in the food before you reach the table

Sodium and potassium are electrolytes, needed for hydration, blood volume,
and the working of nerves and muscles. We get them from food and drink.

They pull in opposite directions on one number:

• Too much sodium raises your blood pressure. Limiting it matters most if
  you already have high blood pressure.
• More potassium lowers blood pressure if yours is high — and by doing so
  reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Most Americans eat too much sodium and too little potassium.

Salt is not sodium

The words are used interchangeably and mean different things. Salt is
sodium chloride, a crystalline compound common in nature. Sodium is a
mineral — a chemical element found in salt.

Worth knowing when reading a label, which gives sodium rather than salt.

The numbers, and where the sodium actually is

Most of the sodium in the diet comes from packaged and restaurant food,
not from cooking or the table.

And the detail that catches people out: **foods with only moderate sodium,
such as bread, can be major sources because they are eaten so frequently.**
The problem is not one salty meal; it is a modest amount, several times a day,
every day. Someone who stops adding salt while eating the same sandwiches has
changed very little.

Where potassium is

Most of the potassium we eat occurs naturally in vegetables, fruit,
seafood and dairy. Good sources: **bananas, oranges, melons, potatoes, sweet
potatoes, and cooked spinach and broccoli.**

What to do

Look at where sodium enters your week — the grocery store, home cooking and
restaurants each need a different tactic.

And consider the DASH eating plan (Dietary Approaches to Stop
Hypertension): low in sodium, cholesterol, saturated and total fat, and high
in fruit and vegetables, fibre, potassium and low-fat dairy. It moves both
halves of this page at once, which is why it exists as a named plan rather
than a list of rules.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.