J. Olsen

In 1931, a young American named Victor Herman accompanied his parents to the Soviet Union, where his father was to set up a Ford Motor Company plant. In 1938, he was inexplicably thrown into a Soviet prison. It was 45 years before he was able to return to America.

A leading cardiovascular research scientist upends the low-salt myth, proving that salt may be one solution to - rather than a cause of - the chronic disease crisis. We've all heard the recommendation: no more than a teaspoon of salt a day for a healthy heart. But there's one big problem with this: the majority of us don't need to watch our salt. For most, salt protects against a host of aliments, including internal starvation, insulin resistance, diabetes and heart disease - not to mention, it tastes great.