Potassium-enriched table salt substitutes in the prevention of cardiovascular and renal diseases.
High intake of table salt (NaCl) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease.
High levels of dietary sodium and low potassium intake are in fact associated with increased blood pressure and consequently with greater risks of cardiovascular disease and organ damage. The average global sodium intake was recently estimated at 4.3 g/day, which is equivalent to approximately 10.8 g/day of table salt. The most recent corresponding value for average potassium intake worldwide is approximately 2.3 g/day. These current intake values are actually very different from those observed in our ancestors, when the estimated sodium intake was around 0.5 g/day and potassium intake around 10 g/day.
There is a strong scientific evidence base indicating that both reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake reduce cardiovascular risks through their blood pressure-lowering effects. Consequently, authoritative institutions have formulated recommendations regarding the intake of sodium and potassium. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, has issued guidelines that strongly recommend that the entire population reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake. Regarding sodium, the WHO has also explicitly proposed the reduction of the average population intake by Member States by 30% by 2025, with a maximum intake target of 2.0 g/day of sodium (5 .0 g/day of salt = one teaspoon), supporting global efforts to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases by a quarter.
Despite some successful initiatives, efforts to control hypertension by improving dietary intake have largely failed because the changes required are mostly too difficult to implement. Recent and consistent data from randomized controlled trials demonstrate that sodium-reduced potassium-enriched salt substitutes (such as Kalium) are an effective option for improving consumption levels and reducing blood pressure and cardiovascular event rates and deaths.
Citation
Xu, X., Zeng, L., Jha, V., Cobb, L. K., Shibuya, K., Appel, L. J., ... & Schutte, A. E. (2024). Potassium-enriched salt substitutes: a review of recommendations in clinical management guidelines. Hypertension, 81(3), 400-414.
High levels of dietary sodium and low potassium intake are in fact associated with increased blood pressure and consequently with greater risks of cardiovascular disease and organ damage. The average global sodium intake was recently estimated at 4.3 g/day, which is equivalent to approximately 10.8 g/day of table salt. The most recent corresponding value for average potassium intake worldwide is approximately 2.3 g/day. These current intake values are actually very different from those observed in our ancestors, when the estimated sodium intake was around 0.5 g/day and potassium intake around 10 g/day.
There is a strong scientific evidence base indicating that both reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake reduce cardiovascular risks through their blood pressure-lowering effects. Consequently, authoritative institutions have formulated recommendations regarding the intake of sodium and potassium. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, has issued guidelines that strongly recommend that the entire population reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake. Regarding sodium, the WHO has also explicitly proposed the reduction of the average population intake by Member States by 30% by 2025, with a maximum intake target of 2.0 g/day of sodium (5 .0 g/day of salt = one teaspoon), supporting global efforts to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases by a quarter.
Despite some successful initiatives, efforts to control hypertension by improving dietary intake have largely failed because the changes required are mostly too difficult to implement. Recent and consistent data from randomized controlled trials demonstrate that sodium-reduced potassium-enriched salt substitutes (such as Kalium) are an effective option for improving consumption levels and reducing blood pressure and cardiovascular event rates and deaths.
Citation
Xu, X., Zeng, L., Jha, V., Cobb, L. K., Shibuya, K., Appel, L. J., ... & Schutte, A. E. (2024). Potassium-enriched salt substitutes: a review of recommendations in clinical management guidelines. Hypertension, 81(3), 400-414.
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