Reducing the amount of salt consumed with food is best done gradually, advises Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). This makes it easier to get used to the natural tastes of foods, which can be healthily enhanced with fresh or cooked herbs.

A diet too high in salt can cause hypertension, the IQWiG noted. It said studies had shown that simply cutting one's salt intake by a few grams daily could lower blood pressure.

People who want to eat less salt need to know which foods contain a lot of it. Fresh and unprocessed foods tend to be low in salt, whereas processed foods - including ready-to-serve meals, potato chips, salt-cured meats and numerous cheeses - are usually high in salt.