A recent study published in the British Medical Journal could have you shaking the salt habit. According to the study, which examined the results of 13 studies involving more than 170,000 people over 12 years, consuming just an extra teaspoon of salt a day increases a person's risk of suffering a stroke by 23 percent and the risk of developing heart disease by 17 percent. That translates to more than 10,000 heart attacks and strokes directly attributed to excess salt consumption, said researchers. What's more, lead author of the study, Pasquale Strazzullo of the University of Naples in Italy, estimated that if people worldwide limited their salt intake to no more than five grams a day-one teaspoon-as many as three million deaths from cardiovascular disease and 250,000 deaths from stoke could be averted each year.

The World Health Organization recommends that people consume just five grams of salt per day, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends the daily intake be limited to 5.8 grams. On average, Americans consume about ten grams of salt every day, or two teaspoons.