I don't know about salt and health, but I do know that the food industry has a vested interest in getting us addicted to salt. It's a very cheap ingredient which can mask (at least for some) the lack of flavour in the inferior ingredients they use to keep costs down. In the last few years I've expanded my culinary repertoire considerably, and I find that reducing salt in many dishes, provided the ingredients are of the first water, is undetectable. Use good ingredients, and think about using herbs more, and you won't have to worry as much about your salt intake.