ADAPTIVE INSTRUCTION MARKET RESEARCH
Reviews on Wellness Research
Salt Substitutes May Lower Stroke Risk and Reduce Healthcare Expenses
By Stephanie Brown
Based on an article in www.verywellhealth.com published on April 21, 2022.
Review Summary by Varsha Roy
Market Research Analyst, Adaptive Instruction
I am Varsha Roy. I am a Software Engineer with 6 years of IT experience from Mumbai. I currently work as a Freelance Book Blogger and own a page on Instagram and a website called Inside A Book. I am also a blogger with Harper Collins India and Hay House India. I also write detailed and well researched blog posts and summaries of research papers for Adaptive Instruction.
This is a summary of the research article ‘Salt substitutes may lower stroke risk and reduce healthcare expenses’ by Stephanie Brown, Nutrition educator based in New York. The article explains that using salt substitute may lower heart risk as well as can prove to be cost-effective.
Salt substitutes which are low sodium or sodium free salts or potassium chloride helps lower stroke and heart attack risks when used in place of table salt for certain populations. Replacing table salt with high-potassium salt substitute could reduce stroke risk by 14% and combined risk of stroke and heart attacks by 13%, according to a five-year study conducted in China.
Sodium present in table salt while is essential, excess consumption of sodium puts pressure on blood vessels as it draws water into it. This can tire the heart as it has to work harder to pump blood. Also, Research conducted on 20000 participants living in rural villages split into salt substitute intervention and table salt control group showed that the salt intervention group which was given a salt substitute had reduced hospitalization costs and improved their quality of life as compared to the regular salt using group. However, if you are already on high blood pressure medication, adding excess potassium to your diet may be risky for your heart as excess potassium in body can cause cardiac arrests.
Thus, sodium consumption should be lowered by limiting processed and packaged food as well as using herbs and spices in place of salt for flavoring. It is also advisable to consult a doctor before substituting table salt with potassium chloride salt.