Jim is right of course.
All too often people jump to the conclusion that “salt is bad” because you often hear about these things where doctors tell people with heart conditions to cut back on their salt intake and where the average American ingests an amazing amount of salt each day.
What you don’t hear usually is that this insane amount of salt comes via processed foods which is what a majority of americans eat for every single meal of nearly their entire lives:
First, you need salt to live, just like you need fat, so completely getting rid of it, even if you could, is a bad idea. Second, the vast majority of salt consumed, particularly in Western diets, comes from processed foods, not from properly seasoning your food while you’re cooking — the NYT article claims processed and restaurant foods account for 80% of Americans’ salt intake.
If you are making your own dishes, from whole ingredients you can use all the salt you feel comfortable with (again, as long as your doctor hasn’t advised you otherwise). The average american is ingesting something nuts like 3.2 to 4g—and beyond!—of salt (sodium) per day.
I implore you to go dump 4g of salt on your kitchen scale and marvel ;)
P.S. A really great book you should read is Salt: A World History.