A group of researchers from the US, UK, China, Peru, Australia and Sweden has discovered that replacing, at least partially, regular salt, which is sodium chloride, with a substitute called potassium chloride notably reduces the risk of heart-related disorders such as heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.
According to accumulated results of 21 clinical trials from around the world, involving 32,000 people from different walks of life, different ages and sex, the use of potassium chloride in cooking reduced the risks of early death from heart attacks or strokes by 11% and the risk of cardiovascular disease by 13%. The scientists explain that it was achieved due to the substitute not ramping up blood pressure like regular salt.
"Salt substitutes produce consistent blood pressure-lowering effects across geographies and diverse participant subsets," the researchers said.
High blood pressure is indeed considered responsible for many early deaths, but potassium chloride is, unfortunately, not suitable for everyone.
The use of the substitute is not recommended for people with conditions such as kidney disease, as increased consumption of potassium chloride could raise potassium levels too high.
But, aside from this group, the researchers saw no other adverse effects caused by switching from regular salt to potassium chloride.