I for one am sticking to this view that there's a U-shaped benefit/risk curve and for healthy people eating salt according to taste lands us just where we need to be. I'll change my opinion when I see this theory debunked: https://necsi.edu/how-much-sodium-should-we-eat
Extra anecdotal info: when I had to take IV antibiotics 2/day for 10 days for an ugly pneumonia they were preparing those in a big syringe of isotonic salt solution aka. physiological serum. During that time of getting daily salt water injections I noticed many foods I was very familiar with and eating regularly suddenly started to taste waaay too salty to me, and it all returned to normal after stopping the injections. So I know for a fact that my body adapts its taste for salt depending on how much salt it already has available.
It's possible that people with underlying health conditions (that might make them more sensitive to salt) naturally tend to consume less salt because of their health issues. Similarly, those with certain health issues might be advised by doctors to restrict their salt intake, leading to the "low salt = poor health" part of the U shape.
It's reverse causality for the low end. Almost nobody is on a low sodium diet.
OK, interesting to think about, but it seems a pretty wild hypothesis - not only do we have to assume these studies that revealed the U shape were so bad they failed to control for some massive health issues of some participants, the intervention itself of severely restricting salt intake failed to do what was advertised and still put these people on a rising slope of negative outcomes.
Extra anecdotal info: when I had to take IV antibiotics 2/day for 10 days for an ugly pneumonia they were preparing those in a big syringe of isotonic salt solution aka. physiological serum. During that time of getting daily salt water injections I noticed many foods I was very familiar with and eating regularly suddenly started to taste waaay too salty to me, and it all returned to normal after stopping the injections. So I know for a fact that my body adapts its taste for salt depending on how much salt it already has available.