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
The daily recommended sodium for adults is 2300 mg, which is about a teaspoon.
Fill up a teaspoon of salt look at it, memorize it, that’s your total daily intake.
Unless you’re cooking from scratch and know exactly how much salt is in anything you make from scratch, one would never know how much salt us being taken in daily, especially eating processed foods.
It’s a lot more than 2,300 mg. I would guess at least 7000mg probably more.
No offense but you’re doctor is crazy imo. Potassium is easily depleted and has so many benefits you don’t want it to be low as most are.
How does it taste?
Sea salt contains magnesium and calcium that play important roles in regulating and balancing sodium and potassium levels in the body. When those are STRIPPED OUT of sea salt and people consume only sodium chloride (modern junk salt) bad things happen. This is not rocket science.
Thank You!!!
I used to drink a 32 oz. bottle of grape Poweraide after putting it in the freezer until it was partly frozen, a grape slushy , mmmmmmm
I don’t do that anymore 🙁
Same here. To, the only difference seems to be the size of the crystals, salt crystals are bigger.
Or just don’t use salt. I hardly use salt but have watched people drain half a salt shaker on already salty food. Just not something I crave. BUT... If people want salt. Let them eat salt. Salt has saved countless lives.
It tastes great, just like regular salt. I use it on popcorn, cooked eggs, vegs, meat, etc. It is NOT like those small navy containers of salt sub - those aren’t good.
“If you don’t swap your salt, you can’t have pudding.
How can you have any pudding if you don’t swap your salt”
I’m in the too much potassium group due to meds. I was told to avoid even foods that are high in potassium.
For some people.
For the rest of humanity there are a hundred more important things that impact our lives.
Will monosodium glutamate be controlled now, too?
Thanks! Nope. Kidneys are great. Everything is just fine for my age (61; how did THAT happen?) other than the slightly elevated blood pressure and if I BEHAVE myself, that’s not an issue, either. ;)
I sent her this article. But you’re right about the potassium. Never WAS an issue until I went low-carb.
Wasn’t an issue LAST check-up, and it really isn’t MUCH of an issue, but heart health is pretty important, considering so many of us are afflicted with bad tickers. :(
“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.
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No. Even under the ideal circumstances of switching out nearly everyone on the planet (a silly hypothetical), this is beyond the physics of what is even possible by at least 50% and likely 3x. The New England Journal is a great publication. You would think that they would know better.
Our bodies need salt. They want another repeat of what happened many decades ago. It causes a lot of health problems and even death.
This was popular in the 80s. These fads just roll and roll.
So does bread, pasta, carbs in general......................
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