Although salt was one of the world's most valuable commodities for millennia, modern geology, technology, and food processing has made it cheap and ubiquitous. Globally, we each eat an average of 3,500 milligrams of sodium a day—a little more than a teaspoon and a half of salt. According to institutions such as the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and the American Heart Association, that's too much, and, if we want to avoid dying from cardiovascular disease, we need to reduce our consumption. But is that really true?

As the U.S. Food & Drug Administration prepares to issue new sodium reduction goals for food manufacturers, we dive into the contentious science of sodium to tease out what we do and don't know about the connection between salt consumption and health. It's a much more nuanced story than the constant refrain that we need to cut down would imply. So why is the U.S. government making policy if the scientific evidence isn't conclusive? In a special collaboration with the podcast DecodeDC, we untangle what the FDA is doing, and why—and what that means to you, as a consumer. The draft guidance remains open for comment until August 31.

Finally, we come full circle and explore salt's current culinary renaissance. From artisanal Icelandic lava salt to handmade hyper-local sea salt, we visit the enthusiasts who are restoring salt's lost status and value. Worried that you need to shake your salt habit? Curious about the merits of different gourmet salts? Mystified by the popularity of salt cod? Listen in to this episode for answers to all these questions and more.

This article appears courtesy of Gastropod, a podcast co-hosted by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley that looks at food through the lens of science and history.

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Nicola Twilley is a co-host of the podcast Gastropod and a contributor to The New Yorker. She is at work on two books: one about refrigeration and the other about quarantine.

, and Cynthia Graber is a writer and audio journalist based in Somerville, Massachusettsand a co-host of the podcast Gastropod. H er work has appeared in Scientific American and The New Yorker . Scientific AmericanThe New Yorker