I have long sounded the alarms on added salt in the diet. Far worse than refined sugar salt has been linked to high blood pressure since the seventies. But the research has been a long and difficult road - especially since the amount of salt added to prepared food has been slowly rising over the last decades. Now a new study has just been published https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/salt-alternative-potassium-reduce-blood-pressure-/103401902
yep, Salt and Potassium do a balancing act in the body, it's a delicate dance, too much to much potassium can wreak havoc too, especially of very low salt intake https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9237821/ "Reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake has been found to lower blood pressure. Further, higher intakes of potassium can attenuate the adverse effects of sodium on blood pressure, especially at high rather than low levels of sodium intake.'
Check with your doctor here. This is not going to help folks with compromised renal function, trying to control both sodium and potassium levels in their diets.
exactly, and people are talking normal standard dietary amounts, as in if one is low on potassium... never want to take too much as it's dangerous to the heart too much can be as bad as too little
Agreed. And I should have added that rider into the OP but the higher potassium intake only really affects those with end stage renal failure. Many many moons ago I worked in dialysis - we used to advise the patients to only have one piece of fruit a day due to the potassium in the fruit. One bright spark though went home and ate a whole watermelon!!
You will pee out K+ (potassium) so to have “too much” you basically have to have it in tablet form. Best bet is to stop adding salt to meals. It only takes three weeks to readjust your palate to a lower salt level - with the exception of potato chips - no beggar can eat those without salt!
If you can pee it out! Back in the day, 'salt substitutes' could only be provided with a doctors order, because of the risk of Hyperkalemia in renal patients. It used to be a real problem because renal patients were put on a low sodium diet, and their families like to 'help' them get through the palate trauma. That's why Mrs Dash packets exists in nursing homes. ( Nobody ever really opens those packets. Sprinkling a bunch of herbs and garlic/onion powder on already cooked foods does not help anyone)
As I said it really only affects end stage renal failure - as in stage three to four. The problem is that hypertension is in and of itself one of the most common causes of renal failure. Even in end stage patients they can become “tolerant” to high levels of potassium. I have seen potassium results of well over 7 in end stage patients who were pre dialysis. Acutely you can administer insulin and glucose then give “Resonium A” which is like drinking plaster of Paris - yech!
I doubt salt is the biggest reason Australians have high blood pressure. Potassium chloride as a salt substitute has been around for a long time. It can be pointed out that potassium salt substitute does not exactly taste the same as salt. It does have a little bit of bitterness, and although it tastes "salty", some feel that it does not really taste like salt, or as truly satiating. Offering processed products with 25% of the salt replaced by potassium salt substitute might be a good idea, for those worried about excess salt consumption. Spike salt free seasoning is one popular alternative condiment to salt. The company is located in Wisconsin.
I did have a little issue taking 4 of these in one day once, won't make that mistake again - 1000mg of potassium per serving - I can handle 1 serving fine, 4 was too much
You can also exercise to sweat and your body uses that to regulate your salt levels. But anyway using that salt in my diet might kill me. I only get 500mg on some days and 1500mg most daysas
