Salt is treated as a cooking decision, and for most people it is largely not one. The great majority arrives already inside food bought ready to eat.
The kitchen is a minor contributor
Salt added during home cooking and at the table accounts for a modest share of typical intake in countries where packaged food is widely eaten.
Bread, processed meats, cheeses, sauces, snacks and prepared meals supply most of the rest, often without tasting particularly salty.
Which means cooking without salt can reduce enjoyment substantially while moving the total very little, an unfavourable trade.
Salt is doing several jobs in manufactured food
In industrial production salt controls fermentation, extends shelf life, changes protein behaviour and improves texture as well as seasoning.
Bread relies on it to regulate yeast activity and strengthen dough, and cured products depend on it for preservation rather than for flavour alone.
Reformulating those products downward is therefore a technical problem, not a matter of using less, which is why change has been gradual.
Perception adapts over weeks
Sensitivity to salt shifts with habitual intake, so food that tastes correct at one level tastes bland at first if that level falls.
The adjustment takes a matter of weeks, after which previously normal food tastes distinctly oversalted.
Gradual reduction therefore works better than an abrupt one, since the palate has time to recalibrate rather than rejecting the food outright.
Seasoning technique changes how much is needed
Salt added early penetrates food and seasons it throughout, while salt added at the end sits on the surface and hits the tongue directly.
Surface salt registers more strongly per unit, which is why a lightly seasoned dish finished with a small amount can taste better seasoned than a heavily salted one.
Acid and aromatics also amplify the perception of salt, so a squeeze of citrus often solves what seemed to be a salt shortage.
Individual advice belongs with a clinician
Salt intake interacts with several health conditions and with medications, and the appropriate level varies considerably between people.
General population guidance is set for populations rather than individuals, and it is not a substitute for advice based on someone's own circumstances.
What a home cook can usefully take from it is where the salt is actually coming from, which is a question of shopping more than of seasoning.