Most people enjoy adding a sprinkle of salt to their food for extra flavor. It’s found in many popular foods like pizza, burgers, chips, and bread. However, many people are consuming much more salt than they should. On average, people in the United States take in more than 3,400 milligrams of salt every day, which is far above the recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams.
Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease, strokes, and even death. Because of this, many people are searching for ways to cut back on salt without losing the taste they love.
Finding a good substitute for regular salt has been a challenge. Many alternatives do not taste the same, and people often go back to using regular salt. But in 2015, researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) came up with something new. They developed a salt mixture that is made of 75% regular salt (sodium chloride) and 25% potassium chloride.
Potassium chloride is a mineral that is found in many fruits and vegetables. It has been shown to help relax blood vessels and reduce blood pressure. This special salt mixture could be a way for people to keep the taste of salt while also cutting back on the harmful effects of too much sodium.
A few years later, in 2020, a doctor named Jaime Miranda wanted to see how well this new salt mixture would work for real communities. He and his team decided to run a study in Peru, in a region called Tumbes.
This area was chosen because many people there have high blood pressure and cannot always get the right medicines to treat it. Dr. Miranda’s idea was simple: replace the regular salt that people use with the new salt mixture and see if it helps lower blood pressure.
The study involved 2,376 people from six different villages. These participants ranged in age from 18 to over 65. The study began in 2014 and continued until 2017. People were randomly assigned to use either the new salt substitute or regular salt for a period of time.
Later, everyone switched to the salt substitute to see if it made a difference. The researchers watched the participants closely and checked their blood pressure regularly.
The results were very encouraging. The number of new cases of high blood pressure in the villages that used the salt substitute was cut in half. People’s average blood pressure levels went down, and no serious side effects were reported.
This showed that the new salt mixture could help people avoid high blood pressure, even if they did not change anything else about their lifestyle. Dr. Miranda said that this study was one of the first to show that using a salt substitute could work for an entire community, not just individuals.
Even a small drop in blood pressure, like the average 2 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) seen in the study, can have big health benefits. According to experts, this small reduction can lower the risk of dying from a stroke by 10% and the risk of dying from heart disease by 7%. These numbers may seem small, but on a large scale, they could save many lives.
Although the salt substitute worked well for most people, Dr. Miranda pointed out that it is not for everyone. People with certain health conditions, like chronic kidney disease, may have trouble handling the extra potassium in their bodies. For these individuals, using a salt substitute could be harmful, so it is important to talk to a doctor before making the switch.
The findings of this study are a promising step forward in the fight against high blood pressure. However, experts still recommend that people use this salt substitute as part of a bigger plan to stay healthy. Eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly, and avoiding processed foods that are high in salt are also important steps for keeping blood pressure under control.
One well-known plan for heart health is the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. This diet is designed to lower blood pressure by focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-salt foods. The DASH diet has been proven to help people maintain healthy blood pressure levels and improve overall heart health.
Dr. George Mensah from the NHLBI believes that community-wide changes, like switching to a healthier salt, can make a big difference. He hopes that more communities around the world can learn from the success of the Peru study and start making simple changes to improve heart health.
The salt substitute is just one example of how a small change can make a big impact. If more people can reduce their salt intake, it could lead to healthier hearts and longer lives.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about vitamins impacts on high blood pressure people need to know, and how to manage high blood pressure and diabetes with healthy foods.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best and worst foods for high blood pressure, and modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
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