Swapping in a salt substitute may significantly lower risk of high blood pressure, research suggests
Lowering the amount of salt in the diet by using a salt substitute may significantly decrease the risk of developing high blood pressure, new research suggests.
People who lower the amount of salt in their diets by using a salt substitute may significantly decrease the risk of developing high blood pressure, a study published Monday suggests.
The report, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, analyzed data from hundreds of men and women, ages 55 and older, who were in elder care facilities in China.
The data came from an earlier, larger study, called DECIDE-Salt, which included 1,612 participants. For the new analysis, researchers focused on 157 women and 454 men who had healthy blood pressure levels and were given food either with the usual amount of salt or with a salt substitute.
The researchers found that cutting salt back by more than a third by swapping in another mineral supplement — salty-tasting potassium chloride — along with other flavorings, such as mushroom, seaweed and lemon, was protective against high blood pressure over a two-year period.
Dr. Yangfeng Wu, senior author of the study and executive director of the Peking University Clinical Research Institute in Beijing, said that although the study was conducted in China, the findings should apply to people in other countries, including the U.S. Anyone can benefit from replacing salt with a substitute, whether they have high blood pressure or not, Wu said.
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