A healthier form of salt could prevent millions of deaths a year, researchers say - The Independent
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A healthier salt substitute could prevent millions of deaths every year from cardiovascular and kidney diseases, according to a new analysis.
The salt substitute looks and tastes like regular table salt. The difference is it’s enriched with potassium, an essential mineral that lowers high blood pressure, helps the heart beat regularly and reduces the calcium lost from urination, lowering risk of kidney stones. The healthier salt is widely available to buy online and in stores for between $6-$20.
The salt, endorsed by the World Health Organization last year, could prevent nearly three million deaths and 10 million cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease globally each year, according to nonprofit, The George Institute for Global Health.
“Consuming too much sodium and not enough potassium are well established causes of high blood pressure - a major risk factor for life threatening conditions like strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease,” said Bruce Neal, senior professorial fellow at the Institute, said.
“Switching to potassium-enriched salt addresses both these dietary issues at the same time, with substantial health benefits.”
Cardiovascular disease is the world’s number one killer, resulting in nearly 20 million deaths every year. Kidney disease is responsible for 1.5 million deaths. One in three adults, aged 30-79, have high blood pressure around the world, equivalent to 1.4 billion people.
Americans already consume much more sodium each day than is recommended by doctors. Nearly half of U.S. adults are living with hypertension, according to federal data.
But to reduce these numbers will require sweeping change, particularly in the food sector, Neal said. In Europe and North America, more than 70 percent of people’s salt intake comes from processed and restaurant foods.
The analysis found that replacing all salt with the substitute would prevent more than 104,000 deaths and nearly 500,000 cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease in 193 countries.
Even if only people with high blood pressure made the switch, more than a million cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease would be prevented, the projections show.
"While a global shift from regular salt to a potassium-enriched substitute is aspirational, this is a starting point to get countries thinking about the opportunity - with much greater potential and at much lower cost than many drug-based treatments,” said Neal.
But the institute also raised a red flag. High potassium levels are common in people with advanced kidney disease because damaged kidneys don’t have the ability to help filter out potassium in the blood.
The condition, hyperkalemia, often has no noticeable symptoms until severe complications arise, such as a heart attack and brief paralysis. However, even among patients with advanced kidney disease, the benefits outweighed the risks, the non-profit said.
“People with serious kidney disease and those taking medications that significantly raise blood potassium levels need to take precautions. Risks for this group can be managed effectively through patient education, product labelling and clinical oversight,” nephrologist Professor Vivek Jha, a senior professorial fellow at the Institute, said.
