Salt (sodium chloride) is good, which is probably why it is so palatable.

Salt has been condemned for its ability to raise blood pressure, but this effect is conditional. Some individuals, called "salt sensitive," experience increased blood pressure when eating a higher-salt diet. Increasing potassium intake can remove salt sensitivity (1). Thus, the problem of hypertension may be insufficient potassium, rather than too much sodium.

Trials of salt restriction have obtained inconsistent effects on mortality rates (2). The problem may be participants' low potassium intakes, as potassium is needed to balance sodium. Those on low-potassium diets may benefit by lowering sodium intake to compensate, but they may benefit even more by raising potassium intake instead (3).

Salt depletion can increase salt's palatability (4). Diabetics can experience intense cravings for salt. Giving them what they want, a very-high-salt diet, can promote carbohydrate metabolism and lower sugar levels in blood and urine, thereby reducing the symptoms of diabetes (5). If an elevated need for salt causes an elevated desire for salt, then taste may be a good indicator of how much to eat. The healthiest amount of salt is probably also the tastiest, assuming a diet with enough potassium.

REFERENCES

    1. Morris, R. Curtis, et al. "Normotensive salt sensitivity effects of race and dietary potassium." Hypertension 33.1 (1999): 18-23.

        • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9931076

    2. Taylor, Rod S., et al. "Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (Cochrane review)." American journal of hypertension 24.8 (2011): 843-853.

        • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21731062

    3. Meneely, G. R., C. O. T. Ball, and J. B. Youmans. "Chronic sodium chloride toxicity: the protective effect of added potassium chloride." Annals of internal medicine 47.2 (1957): 263-273.

        • https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/abs/10.7326/0003-4819-47-2-263

    4. Beauchamp, Gary K., et al. "Experimental sodium depletion and salt taste in normal human volunteers." The American journal of clinical nutrition 51.5 (1990): 881-889.

        • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2185626

    5. McQuarrie, Irvine, Willis H. Thompson, and John A. Anderson. "Effects of Excessive Ingestion of Sodium and Potassium Salts on Carbohydrate Metabolism and Blood Pressure in Diabetic Children Nine Figures." The Journal of Nutrition 11.1 (1936): 77-101.

        • http://jn.nutrition.org/content/11/1/77.full.pdf