Yeah, I’ve been looking into this for that exact reason. It does seem medically beneficial to replace an appreciable portion of your sodium with potassium, for those of us with high blood pressure.
However I don’t really see the point of this. Maybe there are some people who add a lot of salt to stuff, but I believe most of us consume excess sodium through processed and restaurant food. Added salt is not enough of overall sodium intake to matter. It’s much more important to watch the sodium content in your food choices, notably eat less processed food
Sorry for awakening an old thread, but in case anyone reads it ….
I just read some articles (sorry, no link) that puts some numbers on this. It claimed:
typical American gets 70% of their sodium intake from restaurant meals
typical American gets 11% of their sodium from adding salt
US RDA of potassium is about 10 bananas, so almost no one gets it
somehow I thought Chipotle had less sodium than other fast food, but one burrito is over the recommended limit of sodium
So by far the best way to reduce sodium is to eat out less frequently. Reducing or substituting salt won’t make much difference, especially for those of us who don’t typically add salt
Potassium appears to counteract sodium’s bad effects, but it’s difficult to get enough. Eating bananas or avocados won’t do it. Salt substitutes won’t do it
There were also warnings that
too much potassium in salt substitute leaves a metallic taste
potassium can conflict with some high blood pressure medication
Or maybe it’s just me not using much added salt. I do use it when a recipe calls for it or it seems important (like with bread), but it takes several years to work through a canister of salt.
I’ve found that using good spices or fresh herbs make a huge difference over using more salt to perk up weak spices. And I’ve found that many cheap spices are mostly salt, but better spices are more of the intended flavor
I have tried to cut out processed food, partly for this reason. However even once a week of eating out or processed food (or soy sauce) totally dwarfs anything I intentionally add
Oh bread salt is totally for taste. The yeast doesn’t like it. Shit even the sugar in bread recipes isn’t important. If you have enough time all you really need to make bread is water, flour, and an oven. Of course said bread will taste like shit.
I think it’s funny how much they emphasize how important salt is then include Tuscan bread recipes. Not having salt changes how you proof it because it changes yeast activity, but you absolutely do not need it to make bread. Heat from the oven is just as fine for stopping over proofing.
The thing about these salt substitutes is that more studies are needed, just because there’s few of them. The evidence is very promising though, and people switching to these substitutes has been shown to distinctly lower blood pressure, and appears to make a difference for all-cause mortality.
Experts and industry leaders are looking into incorporating added potassium salt into their foods, so it’s probably only a matter of time before virtually everything that everyone eats will have lower sodium and higher potassium.
Yeah, I’ve been looking into this for that exact reason. It does seem medically beneficial to replace an appreciable portion of your sodium with potassium, for those of us with high blood pressure.
However I don’t really see the point of this. Maybe there are some people who add a lot of salt to stuff, but I believe most of us consume excess sodium through processed and restaurant food. Added salt is not enough of overall sodium intake to matter. It’s much more important to watch the sodium content in your food choices, notably eat less processed food
Sorry for awakening an old thread, but in case anyone reads it ….
I just read some articles (sorry, no link) that puts some numbers on this. It claimed:
So by far the best way to reduce sodium is to eat out less frequently. Reducing or substituting salt won’t make much difference, especially for those of us who don’t typically add salt
Potassium appears to counteract sodium’s bad effects, but it’s difficult to get enough. Eating bananas or avocados won’t do it. Salt substitutes won’t do it
There were also warnings that
If your doctor asks you to reduce salt intake to 50% and everything you eat you make yourself, the equation is simple - use this product.
If you get most of your salt intake from restaurant and processed foods… this will only make a minor improvement.
Or maybe it’s just me not using much added salt. I do use it when a recipe calls for it or it seems important (like with bread), but it takes several years to work through a canister of salt.
I’ve found that using good spices or fresh herbs make a huge difference over using more salt to perk up weak spices. And I’ve found that many cheap spices are mostly salt, but better spices are more of the intended flavor
I have tried to cut out processed food, partly for this reason. However even once a week of eating out or processed food (or soy sauce) totally dwarfs anything I intentionally add
Oh bread salt is totally for taste. The yeast doesn’t like it. Shit even the sugar in bread recipes isn’t important. If you have enough time all you really need to make bread is water, flour, and an oven. Of course said bread will taste like shit.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/07/29/why-is-salt-important-in-yeast-bread
I think it’s funny how much they emphasize how important salt is then include Tuscan bread recipes. Not having salt changes how you proof it because it changes yeast activity, but you absolutely do not need it to make bread. Heat from the oven is just as fine for stopping over proofing.
The thing about these salt substitutes is that more studies are needed, just because there’s few of them. The evidence is very promising though, and people switching to these substitutes has been shown to distinctly lower blood pressure, and appears to make a difference for all-cause mortality.
Experts and industry leaders are looking into incorporating added potassium salt into their foods, so it’s probably only a matter of time before virtually everything that everyone eats will have lower sodium and higher potassium.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21343
Now that would be a hugely welcome change