Posted on 08/30/2021 1:03:23 PM PDT by Red Badger
Replacing table salt with a reduced-sodium, added-potassium 'salt substitute' significantly reduces rates of stroke, heart attack and death, according to the results of one of the largest dietary intervention studies ever conducted.
Presented at a 'hotline session' at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris on August 29, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results also showed that there were no harmful effects from the salt substitute.
High levels of sodium intake and low levels of potassium intake are widespread, and both are linked to high blood pressure and greater risks of stroke, heart disease and premature death. Using a salt substitute—where part of the sodium chloride is replaced with potassium chloride—addresses both problems at once. Salt substitutes are known to lower blood pressure but their effects on heart disease, stroke, and death were unclear, until now.
Lead investigator, Professor Bruce Neal of The George Institute for Global Health, said that the scale of the benefit seen in the study could prevent millions of early deaths if salt substitutes were widely adopted.
"Almost everyone in the world eats more salt than they should. Switching to a salt substitute is something that everyone could do if salt substitutes were on the supermarket shelves,"' he said.
'"Better still, while salt substitutes are a bit more expensive than regular salt, they're still very low-cost—just a few dollars a year to make the switch."
"As well as showing clear benefits for important health outcomes, our study also allays concerns about possible risks. We saw no indication of any harm from the added potassium in the salt substitute. Certainly, patients with serious kidney disease should not use salt substitutes, but they need to keep away from regular salt as well," added Professor Neal.
The Salt Substitute and Stroke Study enrolled 21,000 adults with either a history of stroke or poorly controlled blood pressure from 600 villages in rural areas of five provinces in China—Hebei, Liaoning, Ningxia, Shanxi and Shaanxi between April 2014 and January 2015.
Participants in intervention villages were provided enough salt substitute to cover all household cooking and food preservation requirements—about 20g per person per day—free-of-charge. Those in the other villages continued using regular salt.
During an average follow up of almost five years, more than 3,000 people had a stroke. For those using the salt substitute, researchers found that stroke risk was reduced by 14 percent, total cardiovascular events (strokes and heart attacks combined) by 13 percent and premature death by 12 percent.
Professor Neal said that because salt substitutes are relatively cheap (about US$1.62 per kilo versus US$1.08 per kilo for regular salt in China) they are likely to be very cost effective too.
'"Last year, a modeling study done for China suggested that about 400,000 premature deaths might be prevented each year by national uptake of salt substitute. Our results now confirm this. If salt was switched for salt substitute worldwide, there would be several million premature deaths prevented every year," he said.
"This is quite simply the single most worthwhile piece of research I've ever been involved with. Switching table salt to salt substitute is a highly feasible and low-cost opportunity to have a massive global health benefit."
As a result of the study, George Institute researchers are calling for the following actions:
Salt manufacturers and retailers worldwide should switch to producing and marketing salt substitute at scale
Governments worldwide should design polices to promote salt substitute and discourage regular salt use
Consumers worldwide should cook, season and preserve foods with salt substitute not regular salt
Explore further:
Salt substitution—an effective way to reduce blood pressure in rural India
More information: Bruce Neal et al, Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death, New England Journal of Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2105675
Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
Provided by George Institute for Global Health
A lot of food products have boat loads of salt anyway. No need to add to it.
Horsesh$t.
I occasionally use “No Salt” which is KCl.
The article, at my brief read, didn’t say anything about aldosterone, carbohydrates, or systemic inflammation. The body is a highly complex unit. Speaking on one small issue seems juvenile to me.
Cough cough… soy sauce
People with half-way decent kidneys can benefit from all electrolytes, which includes salt and potassium.
The amount needed of sodium to reduce death rates is 3,000 - 7,000 mg/day. Above and below, the rate of death increases.
However, you need plenty of potassium, too. Your kidneys determine how much of each your body needs and excretes the rest of both.
Note: Anyone on blood pressure medicines or special diets needs to watch any large changes to potassium or sodium. The drugs can prevent removal of potassium, for instance, leading to a bad situation.
It costs more, but a banana with a Pedialyte is great after exercising in the Sun.
I used it in FL when I was training there.
Her concern was the potassium/sodium deficiencies it can cause. Changing the formula of the salt substitutes may help that.
I take a mild diuretic and I try to stay low-carb, so I don’t eat bananas and other fruits high in potassium as they carry a lot of carbs as well. When I saw her last month, my potassium level was ONE ‘tick’ below normal, so she suggested the supplement.
cut out ALL bread and wheat.
Exactly correct. How does this study come up with "no problems"? We even had a bit of an issue with my Mom when she partially made the switch, and ended up adjusting her diet elsewhere to keep her potassium levels in check.
Even in my benighted area, the 50/50 sodium / potassium blend is available in larger grocery stores. I just don't think there's a lot of demand for it because of price, and, the taste, depending on use, is not as good.
I never add table salt to my meals. If you check the ingredients label you will be amazed at how much salt is contained in processed foods.
This is an excellent idea. For years I have used an additive called No Salt (potassium chloride) instead of salt.
The problem is that food manufacturers gum up the works by loading their food with salt (sodium chloride) during manufacture. Unfortunately there is no way to remove the salt once the food as absorbed it.
Maybe they should switch to potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. And then advertise the hell out of the changed food.
I have tried a taste test of salt and potassium chloride. Sure taste the same to me.
These discussions are worthless unless the distinction is made between THE CREATOR’S SALT, which contains 85% sodium chloride and 15% other minerals, and salt that has been BUTCHERED and stripped of those other, very important minerals. The latter is what people refer to as salt, but it is like discussing oil and not making a distinction between a hydronated oil and a vitgin natural oil.
Thank you.
Someone mentioned Morton Salt Lite...I may look into that, but I really like Lawry’s season salt with eggs.
I don’t use a lot of table salt.
Big issue for me is that it is in various recipes, and I don’t think the salt substitutes work well in cooking...
If you have any kidney problems it is a no on salt substitutes.
Nope.
Only if you actually have a certain sodium related disorder.
Most people do not.
They can have my table salt when they pry it out of my cold dead han...err...never mind.
Besides, what’s wrong with putting salt on bacon?
That was the problem for my Mom. Her doc wanted her @ 1500 mg of sodium / day (really hard to do!) We made changes gradually and backed off when her potassium levels started getting a bit high.
I started doing this several years ago when I went full Keto and starting fasting as well.
Lo Salt is a cheap and effective electrolyte replacer instead of buying the overpriced heavily marketed ones.
The first marketing change they should make is stop calling it salt substitute. It’s still salts, just not all sodium salts.
Morton’s is leaving money on the table in not getting on the growing Keto bandwagon.
Most people get well over half their salt from prepared foods.
Not from the shaker. And not from home cooked meals.
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