Could changing just one ingredient in our diet save millions of lives?
This seems like a statement that should be taken with a grain of salt.
But new research suggests that replacing regular table salt with a healthier alternative could prevent millions of deaths from heart and kidney disease each year.
The salt sub? Salt enriched with potassium. You’ve probably passed it countless times in your grocery store.
Researchers say it is an inexpensive and practical intervention that helps reduce disease in huge populations. Here’s why.
What is potassium-enriched salt?
Did you know that you can reduce your sodium intake while using the same amount of salt?
Brands like Morton Lite Salt, Nu-Salt, and LOSALT all remove a quarter to half of the salt and mix in potassium chloride to make up the difference. Most people can’t tell that anything has changed.
The concept has been around for almost a century. According to the American Heart Association, it works in two ways: It reduces sodium, which increases blood pressure. But it also increases potassium, which reduces the effect of sodium.
The more potassium you consume, the more sodium comes out in your urine. Potassium also relieves tension in the walls of blood vessels, helping to lower blood pressure.
But not everyone should have it. People with advanced kidney disease take potassium supplements or take diuretics that prevent the loss of potassium in the urine (such as spironolactone).
Too much potassium can build up when the kidneys don’t remove it efficiently, causing problems such as nausea, vomiting, or irregular heart rate in extreme cases.
A study worth its salt
Researchers modeled the potential benefits of replacing regular table salt with potassium-fortified salt in 193 countries, including the United States.
The authors identified four conditions that would represent the greatest benefits:
- Ischemic heart disease: narrowed or blocked arteries, which can lead to heart attacks
- Hypertensive heart disease: caused by high blood pressure and can lead to heart failure
- Stroke: brain damage caused by blocked or ruptured blood vessels
- Chronic kidney disease: progressive loss of kidney function which can lead to kidney failure
They found that replacing all salt worldwide would prevent 2.96 million deaths from these diseases each year.
But partial, more specific substitutions also helped. Up to 1.85 million deaths could be avoided if salt was exchanged only at home. Replacing 50% of all salt would save 1.72 million, while 20% would save 700,000 people.
They estimated that new cases of these diseases would decrease by 10.17 million each year.
In the United States specifically, ditching salt could prevent 104,787 deaths and 491,905 new cases of these diseases each year.
Return to the salt mines
The authors acknowledge that replacing all the salt consumed worldwide is somewhat unrealistic in the short term. Especially when potassium-enriched salt costs about twice as much as regular salt.
The fact is that there is precedent for a salt swap to benefit public health. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, large areas of the United States suffered from iodine deficiencies, causing thyroid problems. In the early 1900s, scientists began adding iodine to salt, and this method is still widely used today.
If you want to make this change, consult your doctor to make sure your kidneys can handle it and that you are not taking medications that could cause problems with increased potassium.
A study published by the American Heart Association recommends that people with high blood pressure (who get a doctor’s OK) make the change.
They recommend using a mixture of 75% salt and 25% potassium chloride. Use it 1:1 as a replacement – no gradual transition needed.
And don’t view this change as permission to pile on more salt – it could negate the benefits.
Gn Health
