Turns Out Not Eating Salt Is Not the End of the World

Five flavorful dishes that demonstrate the beauty of your other options

It’s not a sexy problem to have, but it’s one that almost half of Americans share: Our doctors want us to eat less salt. They’re not wrong—too much sodium can increase the likelihood of hypertension, and hypertension is a scourge, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and a contributor to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. every year. See? Not sexy! (I warned you.)

Here’s the bad news, which I’ve mentioned before: There is no substitute for salt. It’s a singular ingredient, incomparable and alluring and essential. There’s just too much of it around these days, that’s all, and many of us are not built for it. And so, we get creative.