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Potassium-enriched salt substitute
Lowers sodium and raises potassium at once. The only option here with outcome data on strokes and deaths.
What the research shows: In 20,995 older adults in rural China with high blood pressure or a past stroke, the salt substitute lowered stroke (rate ratio 0.86), major cardiovascular events (0.87) and death (0.88) over 4.7 years versus regular salt. A 2026 network meta-analysis found moderate-potassium substitutes probably lower systolic pressure by about 4.4–4.6 mmHg. (PMID 34459569, PMID 41578335)
- Do not use potassium salt substitutes if you have kidney disease or take medicines that raise potassium (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, potassium-sparing diuretics such as spironolactone) without asking your clinician: potassium can build to dangerous levels.
- Potassium supplement pills are not a substitute: high-dose potassium can cause dangerous heart rhythms, and US over-the-counter pills are labelled at 99 mg or less.
In the studies
- The 2021 SSaSS trial gave households a salt substitute of 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride by mass, used in place of regular salt for about 5 years.
A record of what researchers gave, in whom; not a dose for you.
EvidenceBmoderate (Grade B)
What to look for on the label
A "lite" or low-sodium salt that replaces part of the sodium chloride with potassium chloride (about a quarter, as in the large trial). It is a food swap, not a pill; potassium pills are not the same thing.
We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.
