Why should salt be replaced by “low sodium salt”?

Using “low sodium salt” doesn’t cost any effort or a lot of money, but could save thousands of lives a year. This small change in a common ingredient guarantees a significant reduction in the risk of heart attack or stroke in people with high blood pressure.

This finding has been revealed in a long-term study conducted in china, that was presented at the ESC 2021 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, which was held between August 27 and 30 in France. The research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Low Sodium Salt Lowers Blood Pressure

In the diet, too much sodium combined with too little potassium it can cause blood pressure to skyrocket, especially in people who are vulnerable to this imbalance. And, as is well known, hypertension increases the risk of all cardiovascular diseases.

Salt is by definition sodium chloride. In low sodium salt, part of the sodium chloride is replaced by potassium chloride. According to the latest ESC press release, its antihypertensive effect has already been proven in numerous studies.

600 Chinese villages participated in the study of salt

The research was carried out in 600 rural villages in five provinces of China. Around 35 adults from each village were recruited up to a total of 20,995 participants. All of them had suffered a stroke or were over 60 with high blood pressure.

The participants were again divided into two groups. Members of one of the village groups received free salt substitutes Composed of 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride.

The researchers advised them to use it for cooking, seasoning, and preserving food. They also encouraged test subjects to Use your new salt as sparingly as possible.

On the other hand, the participants from the control villages maintained their normal habits. His salt consisted of 100% sodium chloride.

What happened five years later?

Almost five years later, the researchers evaluated the health status of the participants. It turned out that 3,000 people had suffered a stroke during this time, more than 4,000 had died, and another 5,000 had suffered from another cardiovascular disease.

Those numbers seem frightening at first, but it’s not surprising given that the subjects they were an average of 65 years old and almost all had a previous illness.

However, it turned out that those who always took the low-sodium salt had a 14% lower risk of stroke or heart attack. A huge effect if one takes into account that neither the diet nor the lifestyle was changed, only the type of salt.

Scientists are convinced that they have discovered an effective and inexpensive way to prevent thousands of deaths each year.

“The result of the study is interesting because switching to low-sodium salt is one of the few practical ways to limit salt intake,” explains study lead Professor Bruce Neal.

salt conversion

It was easy for people in the Chinese province to switch to low sodium salt. Ultra-processed foods are rarely present on your tables And they cook every day.

However, the switch can be more difficult for city dwellers who eat out or turn to ready meals, often ultra-processed with a lot of salt (and sodium-containing additives).

In addition to substituting potassium chloride salt for normal salt, salt can be reduced by combining it with toasted sesame to make gomasio (ten parts sesame to one part salt) or Season with herbs and spices instead of with salt.

Scientific references:

Neal B. et al. Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death.New England Journal of Medicine.