Using a Salt Substitute Can Slash Risk of Developing High Blood Pressure
[ad_1]
Replacing regular salt with a salt substitute can reduce the chances of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) in older adults with normal blood pressure — without increasing their risk of low blood pressure episodes, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Study participants who used a salt substitute had a 40 percent lower likelihood of getting high blood pressure compared with those who used regular salt.
Close to half of U.S. adults (over 122 million) have hypertension, which makes the heart work harder than normal. If left untreated, it increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, and other health conditions, according to the American Heart Association.
“It’s crucial to recognize the impact of our dietary choices on heart health and increase the public’s awareness of lower-sodium options,” said lead author Yangfeng Wu, MD, PhD, executive director of the Peking University Clinical Research Institute in Beijing, China, in a press release. The findings show that replacing regular salt with a salt substitute offers a safe and effective way for people with normal blood pressure to lower cardiovascular risks without sacrificing flavor, said Dr. Wu.
All Participants Had Normal Blood Pressure at the Start of the Study
Although it’s known that reducing sodium can lower blood pressure, there isn’t much evidence about how using a salt substitute can affect the risk of future hypertension in people with normal blood pressure, according to the authors. Study participants’ blood pressure needed to be less than 140/90 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) and not taking any medications to control blood pressure.
The top number in the blood pressure reading is systolic blood pressure, which measures pressure on blood vessels when the heart contracts, and the bottom number, diastolic pressure, measures the pressure when the heart muscle relaxes.
Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg. Depending on the provider, high blood pressure is consistently higher than either 130/80 or 140/90 mmHg.
Salt Substitute Lowered Risk of Developing Hypertension By 40 Percent
The trial included about 600 participants aged 55 years or older from 48 care facilities split into two groups: half the facilities and about half the subjects replaced usual salt with the salt substitute and the remaining half continued the use of regular salt.
Regular table salt is usually 100 percent sodium chloride. The salt substitute used in the study contained 62.5 percent sodium chloride, 25 percent potassium chloride, and 12.5 percent dried ingredients for flavoring, which included mushroom, lemon, seaweed, hawthorn, wild jujube, and traces of amino acids. The replacement was given to the kitchen staff, and the facilities were not allowed to provide externally sourced food more than once per week in the intervention group.
After two years, the incidence of hypertension was 11.7 per 100 people-years in participants using the salt substitute, versus 24.3 per 100 people-years in participants with regular salt — a 40 percent lower risk.
Subbing out salt didn’t lead to hypotension, or low blood pressure, which can be a common issue in older adults, the authors noted.
“I think the findings of the study are important to amplify,” says Diane Stadler, PhD, RD, a professor of medicine and director of graduate programs in Human Nutrition at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
“They demonstrate that even individuals with normal blood pressure can lower their blood pressure by using salt substitutes and can do so without the risks of becoming hypotensive, a condition which can cause light headedness, dizziness, fainting, and falls,” says Dr. Stadler, who was not involved in the study.
The fall risk is a concerning potential complication of hypotension because it may lead to a broken hip or spine fracture.
These findings suggest that salt substitutes could be a good strategy to lower hypertension and heart disease risk across all people — both with and without hypertension, said Wu.
Most Americans Eat Too Much Sodium
“Adults frequently fall into the trap of consuming excess salt through easily accessible and budget-friendly processed foods,” said Wu.
The average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day — nearly 50 percent more than the recommended amount of 2,300 milligrams per day, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
And Wu is right: Most of the extra sodium doesn’t come from oversalting home cooked meals. Instead, over 70 percent of our dietary sodium comes from packaged and prepared foods such as deli meat, pizza, tacos, and chips.
Are There Any Health Risks to Lowering Salt Intake or Using a Salt Substitute?
If you’re interested in using a salt substitute in an effort to lower your sodium intake, check with your healthcare provider first, suggests Elisabetta Politi, MPH, RD, a certified diabetes educator at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina. “Salt substitutes can raise blood potassium levels to unsafe levels in people with conditions such as kidney disease, heart disease, liver disease, and diabetes. Individuals taking certain blood pressure-lowering medications, including angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics, also may be at risk of elevated potassium in their blood,” she says.
The other consideration that needs to be made when reducing salt intake, using salt substitutes, or consuming non-iodized salt is the impact that these changes have on total iodine intake. Iodine is an essential mineral that needs to be consumed to maintain thyroid function, says Stadler.
“Table salt is iodized to prevent iodine deficiency, a condition associated with the development of goiter. Iodine deficiency was a public health concern in the early 1900s but was pretty much eradicated with the ionization of salt,” she says.
However, it can still occur if people don’t consume enough iodine, says Stadler. Foods with higher amounts of iodine include fish, shellfish, seaweed, and cow’s milk. Milk is a source because an iodine wash is used as an antimicrobial agent in the milking process, she says.
If you get the green light from your healthcare provider, Politi recommends starting cautiously with a blend to see the effect on blood pressure.
Can You Use a Salt Substitute in Baking and Cooking the Same Way You Would Use Table Salt?
There are different types of salt substitutes. Some contain both potassium chloride and sodium chloride, while others are just potassium chloride, which will be listed under “ingredients” on the label.
Some individuals find potassium chloride alone as palatable as sodium chloride; it depends on your tastebuds, says Politi. “I suggest experimenting with different products, using moderation as an important guideline,” she says.
You can cook and bake with salt substitutes, but the same amount is not always needed, says Politi. For example, Nu Salt recommends starting out with small amounts and adding more as needed. Read the label or visit the product website to find out more.
[ad_2]
