In a new op-ed for Health Affairs Forefront, Professor Bruce Neal, Executive Director for The George Institute for Global Health and our own Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, call for switching the salt we use to a healthier alternative—potassium-enriched, low-sodium salts—to improve heart health. Low-sodium salts look and taste just like regular salt and require no changes to recipes, but they can reduce risk of heart attack, stroke, or death by nearly 15%.
And since just about everyone can benefit from consuming less sodium and more potassium, “they’re a double win.” Countries can make a big difference in public health by promoting reduced-sodium salts enriched with potassium, including them in national treatment guidelines for hypertension, indicating salt content using front-of-package labelling, and partnering with manufacturers to make sure they are affordable and accessible.
Learn more about ways to reduce salt intake without compromising taste here.