From the meals we order at restaurants to the pantry staples and packaged foods we buy in the grocery store, there's a lot of salt in our diet It's there for an obvious reason, of course. Salt helps provide flavor to bland food, as well as bring out other flavors that may be masked, such as sweetness, sourness and the ever-elusive umami. It's also a great preservative because it's cheap, non-toxic and tastes good But salt doesn't just affect your taste buds. <br />"The sodium found in salt is an important electrolyte needed for muscle contractions, nerve impulses and balancing hydration in the body," says Amanda Meadows, a clinical dietitian at Houston Methodist. "This makes sodium an essential mineral, but your body only needs so much of it. Many people eat more salt than the body needs and, over time, there are consequences to this."<br />What happens if you eat too much salt?<br />We're most familiar with how salty foods make us feel in the hours after eating them.<br />The immediate symptoms of eating too much salt include:<br />Increased thirst<br />Swollen feet or hands<br />Headache (in some cases)<br />Rise in blood pressure<br />