In the past few months i have become a farmers market addict. It makes the veggies i need so cheap, and the ability to make my own veggie stock super cheap. All you have to do is throw in 6 carrots, half a head of cabbage, 3 leeks, 3 celery stalks, 2 hand fulls of bean sprouts, 3 med red onions, 5 garlic cloves and the spices you love (i.e thyme,dill,rosemary). You fist brown the veggies in 2 TB of olive oil and then add a gallon of water. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer for two hours. Then use a cheese cloth or colander and strain. YAY little to no sodium its up to you what you throw in and you can do it while your watching a movie or something. Feel free to freeze this and save it for later it makes a lot!
p.s. If you do still need salt TWO WORDS sea salt!!

Blessings & Peace,
Krista

I thought that 5% figure seemed low and did some googling:

Weinberger noted that some Americans are more likely than others to be salt sensitive. These include older persons, African Americans, and those with a family member who is salt sensitive or who have a parent, sibling, or child with hypertension. Based on the researchers’ earlier studies, he estimates that about 26 percent of Americans with normal blood pressure and about 58 percent of those with hypertension are salt sensitive.

from “Study Shows New Link Between Salt Sensitivity And Risk Of Death”
ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2001)

The study also notes that even for people with normal blood pressure, there is a doubled risk of stroke with high salt/sodium intake. CVD death rates between North America and Japan/Korea are similar overall but nearly mirror opposites in the ratio of heart disease versus stroke deaths. Moreover, the highest stroke rates are in northern Japan, where a traditional diet of salted fish and pickled vegetables got people through long, cold winters.

I recall reading somewhere that potassium-sodium balance is as important as overall sodium consumption in regulating blood pressure. Most vegetables are naturally high in potassium, so a diet high in produce should be protective against high blood pressure.