Salt enriched with potassium can save millions of lives. New expert recommendations

It is estimated that one in three adults in the world, aged 30 to 79, suffers from high blood pressure. That's as many as 1.4 billion people. Cardiovascular diseases, including strokes and heart attacks, are the most common cause of death and disability in the world. In 2023, these conditions led to 19.2 million deaths, an increase of almost 50 percent over the past three decades.

Groundbreaking research on potassium-enriched salt

An international team of scientists from The George Institute for Global Health conducted a comprehensive analysis of the potential health benefits of using potassium-enriched table salt instead of traditional salt, sodium chloride. The research covered as many as 193 countries, and their results are extremely promising.

According to experts, "up to one in ten cardiovascular deaths could be avoided in most countries." Globally, this would mean preventing nearly three million deaths per year and ten million new cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease.

How does potassium-enriched salt work?

Potassium-enriched salt is made by replacing part of the sodium chloride with potassium chloride. In terms of appearance, taste and use, it does not differ from traditional table salt. However, the most important thing is its beneficial health role. Excessive sodium consumption combined with potassium deficiency are, as scientists emphasize, "well-documented causes of high blood pressure - the main risk factor for life-threatening conditions such as strokes, heart attacks and kidney diseases."

Switching to potassium-enriched salt therefore allows you to solve both of these dietary problems at the same time, bringing tangible health benefits.

WHO recommendations and potential challenges

The World Health Organization officially recommended the use of potassium-enriched salt as early as 2025 as an effective way to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Scientists analyzed various scenarios for implementing this change - from completely replacing regular salt to introducing it only in patients with already diagnosed hypertension. In each of these cases, significant health benefits were reported.

This does not mean, however, that the new salt is a perfect solution for everyone. People with advanced kidney disease may be at risk of hyperkalemia, i.e. too high potassium levels in the blood. However, as the authors of the study point out, even in this group the benefits outweigh the potential threats.

People with serious kidney disease or those taking medications that significantly increase potassium levels in their blood must exercise caution. The risk in this group can be effectively reduced through patient education, appropriate product labeling and medical supervision - emphasizes nephrologist, Professor Vivek Jha.

The key role of the food industry

Implementation of the recommendations on a large scale requires the involvement of food producers. In many countries, especially in Europe and North America, as much as 70 percent of salt consumed comes from processed foods and restaurant meals.

It would also require finding ways to scale up potassium chloride production to meet demand, says Professor Bruce Neal.

Experts emphasize that switching to potassium-enriched salt is a real opportunity to improve public health around the world.