There is a Salt Institute?

A study recommends cutting back on sodium and getting more potassium:

Among the findings:
1. A modest reduction in salt intake for four or more weeks lowered systolic pressure (the top number) by an average of 5mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). Blood pressure reductions from reduced salt intake were greater in people with hypertension.
2. Reduced salt intake did not have adverse effects on cholesterol or renal function.
3. Increased potassium intake also helped lower blood pressure.

But wait:

Morton Satin, vice president of science and research for the Salt Institute, an industry group, says, "There is no evidence that salt reduction improves overall health outcomes."
Salt reduction reduces blood pressure by a couple of points in people with high blood pressure, he says. If your systolic blood pressure is at 160 and drops a few points, that's no great benefit, nowhere near a comparable benefit from standard blood pressure medication, he says.
"On the other hand, there is a large body of clinical evidence linking negative health outcomes, such as insulin resistance, with salt reduction.
"I cannot understand how our entire public health establishment can go on talking about salt reduction and ignoring every single peer-reviewed publication that counters the salt-restriction agenda," Satin says. (emphasis mine)

That is fucking awesome.  I thought only Big Tobacco and Big Oil  said crazy shit like that.  Why on earth does Big Salt need hack researchers bad mouthing actual science.  Salt is awesome.  Sure it may kill you, but shit, you are going to die anyway.  May as well enjoy yourself while you are here.  If today was April 1, I would swear the Salt Institute was part of an elaborate joke:

 The Salt Institute is a North American based non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing the many benefits of salt, particularly to ensure winter roadway safety, quality water and healthy nutrition.

I'll have to peruse the Salt Institute archives for the "Myths about salt and automobile corrosion" story.  I'm sure there are  peer-reviewed publications that salt doesn't cause corrosion, moisture does.  Oh wait, this site is a gold mine:

The Salt Institute is dedicated to helping consumers enjoy the myriad benefits of salt while balancing those benefits against potential harm to health and the environment. Our advocacy for salt is science-based and consumer-centered. Typical of our advocacy approach has been our development and promotion of “Sensible Salting” for roadways. In North America, use of salt to clear snow and ice from roadways to make them safe and passable began in the 1940s. By the 1960s, enthusiastic but ill-informed use of salt on roads had created water contamination of many roadside wells and damaged or destroyed noticeable amounts of vegetation in roadway rights-of-way and along urban arterial streets. The Institute recognized the problem and created a pro-active program to train its customers, primarily state/provincial and local transportation agencies, on techniques to store salt in a way to prevent it from leaching into groundwater and to apply it in the minimum amounts necessary to complement plowing to restore safe driving conditions. The program won a public service award in 1972.
Of course, the Institute has not rested on its laurels, but rather applied the same strategy as other issues arise: identifying the public concern and pro-actively working with concerned parties to develop industry practices, customer salt use guidelines or government regulatory controls to protect our workers from harmful occupational exposures, guard against environmental discharges or environmentally unsound practices at our production plants, encourage economical all-weather roadway operations, increase the salt efficiency of ion-exchange water softeners, expand the use of iodized salt as the most economical measure to combat mental retardation and provide consumer guidance on dietary salt intake levels to ensure optimal health. The list could go on.

Use salt, you don't want to be retarded.  Wow.(I know, iodine is important, but really?)

Update: Also this.  One Bland Week on a Low-sodium diet. I'm with you, man, but even I tried to cut back to one of the twin tubes of snowy white awesomeness from the salt packet on my fast food fries.