A lot of Australians might think they're being smart about their salt intake.  But new research shows they're unwittingly consuming almost twice the daily recommended amount of salt.

VicHealth and Deakin University studied 2,400 Victorian adults and determined that as many as 800 lives per year in the state could be saved if folks just reduce their salt intake to recommended levels.  But that's not so easy, because of "hidden salt" in things like store-bought bread, cereals, processed meats, and pizza, according to VicHealth programs executive manager Dr. Bruce Bolam in an interview with the ABC.  

"Broadly we eat between eight and ten grams of salt every day and that's about twice the WHO level which is recommended," said Dr. Bolam, who is calling on Australian food companies to be more transparant about the amount of hidden salt in their products.

And while 80-percent of the study participants understood that people consume too much salt in their diet, only a third realized that they personally were part of that group.