To me, the story of salt strongly highlights the difference between science (as in, the results of scientific experiments and careful reasoning), and &quot;science&quot;, the things the general public is told science has found by journalists and policymakers.<p>Not only was there was never a strong scientific basis for telling people to reduce their salt intake, my anecdotal observation is that it&#x27;s fairly easy to wind up salt-deficient and get symptoms. Sweat contains salt (1g&#x2F;L), so when exercising or in high temperatures, I need to eat more of it, or I&#x27;ll get fatigued and physical exertion will become impossible. (Sweat also makes exercise a confounder in studies that look at urinary excretion.)<p>Meanwhile, foods that we think of as &quot;salty&quot; are usually not actually salty, but rather, are designed to create salt pica. If you start eating potato chips, with most American brands, you&#x27;ll get to 2000 calories before you get to a typical salt intake (which is 3.5g).