Possible role of salt intake in the development of essential hypertension. 1960.

Although the practice of adding salt to food is an ancient one, there seems to be little doubt that until relatively modern times its widespread use as a condiment was uncommon. At present, the practice is a ubiquitous one and, in the United States at least, salt may be added at any stage before, during or after food-processing as well as before, during or after cooking. And sometimes salting takes place during each of these steps! The ancient valuation of salt as a precious possession1 may have contributed to the modern notion that the addition of salt to food is necessary or even beneficial.2 Nonetheless, during the 20th century, there has been evidence accumulating which suggests a possible relationship between salt ingestion and hypertension in man.3 In this paper we will review the sum total of the evidence, which we have been gathering since 1954.1,4–14 The original papers should be consulted both for the primary data as well as for correlation with the experiences of others in this field. These studies are in line with the modern effort against subtle lethal agents as, for example, fall-out, carcinogens and atherogenic factors.