Three-day diets were recorded (weighing method) by 39 volunteer housewives (35-62 years of age), who were participants in the adult disease prevention program promoted by a local health center located in a suburban area of Tokyo. Nutrient intakes for 22 items in the records were calculated based on Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (4th revised Ed., 1982), and correlation coefficients among these items were computed statistically. From the viewpoint of mineral nutrition research, an indicator of “salt-free ash” (SFA: values obtained by excluding sodium as sodium chloride from ash) was introduced in this analysis. The intakes of SFA showed strong correlations with several components including protein, potassium and iron. These results, in combination with the earlier finding that SFA was also correlated well with dietary magnesium content, may indicate the applicability of SFA as an indicator, at least for potassium, iron and magnesium, in nutritional assessment.