Why WHO recommended switching to a healthier alternative of salt

This week World Health Organization (WHO) has issued up-to-date guidelines that recommend people to change the ordinary salt that they exploit at home for substitutes containing less sodium.

But what are these salt alternatives? And why does he recommend it? Let’s look.

A up-to-date solution to the elderly problem

Tips for eating less salt (sodium chloride) are not up-to-date. It was part of international and Australian guidelines over decades. This is because the evidence clearly shows sodium with cans salt harm our health When we eat too much.

Excess sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, which applies to millions of Australians (around One in three adults). High blood pressure (hypertension) In turn, it increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

WHO is estimated 1.9 million deaths Each year, you can attribute too much salt to food each year.

WHO recommends eating no more than 2G sodium per day. However, people eat on average more than twice, around, around 4.3ga day.

In 2013, WHO Member States obliged to reduce Sodium consumption population by 30% until 2025.. But salt consumption turned out to be very hard. Most countries, including Australia, will not meet the purpose of WHO in terms of reducing sodium consumption until 2025. Those who since then Set the same goal to 2030.

The difficulty is that consuming smaller salt means accepting a less salty taste. It also requires changes in established methods of preparing food. It turned out too much to ask people to make food at home and too much for the food industry.

Enter the salt enriched with potassium

The main substitute for salt with a lower soda is called salt enriched with potassium. It is salt in which some sodium chloride has been replaced with potassium chloride.

Potassium is Necessary mineralplaying a key role in all body functions. The high potassium content of fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the main reasons why they are so good for you. While people eat more sodium than they should, many do not have enough potassium.

WHO recommends everyday potassium consumption of 3.5 g, but in general, people in most countries consume significantly less than that.

Potassium reinforced salt uses our health by reducing the amount of sodium we consume and increasing the amount of potassium in our diet. Both aid reduce blood pressure.

Regular salt for potassium salt has been shown to be demonstrated reduce the risk heart disease, stroke and premature death in immense studies around the world.

In modeling studies, it predicted that switches in the entire population for the exploit of salt enriched with potassium would prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths due to cardiovascular disease (such as heart attack and stroke) China AND India alone.

The key advantage of switching instead of cutting salt intake is that salt enriched with potassium can be used as a direct saline replacement with one on one. It looks the same, works on spices and recipes, and most people do not notice any crucial difference in taste.

IN The largest process Salt enriched with potassium, over 90% of people still used the product after five years.

Making the Switch: A few challenges

If it is fully implemented, it may be one of the most consistent tips he has ever given.

Every year around the world you can prevent millions of strokes and heart attacks with a uncomplicated transition to a way of preparing food. But there are some obstacles to overcome before we get to this point.

First of all, it will be crucial to balance the benefits and risk. For example, people from Advanced kidney disease It does not support potassium well, so these products are not suitable for them. It is only small percentage population, but we must make sure that salt products enriched with potassium are marked with appropriate warnings.

The key challenge will be to make salt reinforced with more accessible and available. Potassium chloride is more pricey in production than sodium chloride, and now salt enriched with potassium is mostly sold as a niche health product at A Premium price.

If you are looking for it, Salt substitutes You can also call salt with low sodium content, potassium salt, heart salt, mineral salt or sodium reduced salt.

AND Review published in 2021 It was found that low sodium salts were sold only in 47 countries, mainly with high income. Prices ranged from ordinary salt to almost 15 times higher.

You will need an extended supply chain, which produces much more potassium chloride with food to allow wider availability of the product. And we will have to see salt enriched with potassium on the shelves next to ordinary salt so that people can easily find.

In countries such as Australia about 80% of salt from which we eat processed food. WHO guidelines are not clearly, the salt switch used in food production is not a priority.

Interested parties cooperating with the government in order to encourage the collection of the food industry will be necessary to maximize health benefits.