Changing the salt we use every day could save almost three million lives a year around the world. It is not a question of eliminating it from the diet, but of replacing part of the sodium chloride with potassium chloride, keeping the flavor of the food practically unchanged. This is what emerges from a study published on November 4 in the scientific journal Nature Healthwhich analyzed the possible consequences of this dietary modification.
According to researchers’ estimates, completely replacing traditional salt with a mixture composed of 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride would make it possible to avoid 2.96 million deaths and over 10 million new cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease every year. A reduction equal to 14.6% in deaths caused by these pathologies.
What changes
The mechanism is relatively simple: decreasing sodium and increasing potassium helps to lower blood pressure, one of the main risk factors for heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. The benefits would be important even if we only intervene on the salt used in domestic kitchens. In this case, 1.85 million deaths per year could be prevented. Instead, replacing that used by the food industry and restaurants would avoid approximately 1.56 million deaths.
This last aspect is particularly relevant for Europe, where over 70% of the salt consumed comes from industrial products and foods prepared outside the home.
However, there are some contraindications. In patients with advanced kidney disease, excess potassium can cause hyperkalemia, a life-threatening condition. For these people, salt replacement therefore requires a medical evaluation. The authors also stress that these are statistical projections, not lives already saved through a worldwide trial. The diffusion of potassium-enriched salt would take years, also because it currently costs on average double that of traditional salt. However, the research confirms the potential of a relatively simple change in diet, already supported by the recommendations of the World Health Organization.