The healthier salt that could reduce risk of heart disease death

Could changing just one ingredient in our diets save millions of lives?It sounds like a claim to take with a grain of salt.But new research suggests that swapping ordinary table salt for a healthier alternative could prevent millions of deaths from heart and kidney disease every year.The salt sub? Potassium-enriched salt.You’ve probably passed it at your grocery store countless times.Researchers say it’s a low-cost and practical intervention to help lower disease across huge populations.

Here’s why.Did you know you can lower your sodium while using the same amount of salt?Brands like Morton Lite Salt, Nu-Salt, and LOSALT all take out a quarter up to a half of the salt and mix in potassium chloride to make up the difference.Most people can’t tell anything’s been changed at all.

The concept has been around for almost a century.According to the American Heart Association it works two ways: it reduces sodium, which increases blood pressure.

But it also boosts potassium, which reduces the effect of sodium.The more potassium you consume, the more sodium comes out in your urine.Potassium also eases tension in blood vessel walls, helping lower blood pressure.But not everyone should have it.

Those with advanced kidney disease, are taking potassium supplements, or on diuretics that prevent the loss of potassium in pee (like spironolactone) are a few.Too much potassium can build up when the kidneys don’t remove it efficiently, causing issues like nausea, vomiting, or irregular heart rate in extreme cases.Researchers modeled potential benefits of swapping regular table salt with potassium-enriched salt across 193 countries, including the US.The authors identified four conditions that would account for the greatest benefits:They found that replacing all salt around the world would prevent 2.96 million deaths from these diseases, every year.But partial and more specific substitutions also helped.As many as 1.85 million deaths would be prevented if salt was swappe...