Potassium-Enriched Salt Could Prevent 3 Million Deaths Annually

Table salt has long been treated as a harmless kitchen staple, but a new mathematical model suggests that swapping part of its sodium for potassium could avert nearly 3 million deaths annually, according to a study published in Nature Health and reported by WIRED. Researchers at the George Institute for Global Health calculated that if 193 countries replaced conventional salt with a potassium-enriched version, 2.96 million deaths and 10.17 million new cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease could be prevented each year, Infobae reported.

The gap between the two numbers tells the story: even partial adoption in households alone would prevent 1.85 million deaths and 6.19 million disease cases annually, while extending the switch to processed foods and restaurants would add another 1.56 million prevented deaths and 5.46 million avoided cases, according to Infobae’s account of the study.

How a Quarter Swap Changes the Math

The alternative salt replaces one-fourth of the sodium chloride with potassium chloride, producing granules visually indistinguishable from regular table salt, National Geographic España reported. The model estimates this could cut deaths from cardiovascular and kidney diseases by up to 14.6%.

Bruce Neal, a researcher at the George Institute, said in a statement that excess sodium and insufficient potassium are well-established causes of high blood pressure, and that switching to potassium-enriched salt addresses both problems at once. “It has much greater potential and at a much lower cost than many drug treatments,” National Geographic España quoted Neal as saying.

China, the U.S. and Mexico Stand to Gain Most

China could avoid 1,082,666 deaths a year if all consumed salt were substituted, followed by India with nearly 400,000 fewer fatalities, Infobae reported. The United States could prevent 104,787 deaths annually, Mexico 30,464, and the United Kingdom around 13,000 deaths plus roughly 60,000 cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease, according to the study’s estimates.

The World Health Organization recommended potassium-based salt substitutes for certain adult groups in 2025, WIRED reported, but conventional salt still dominates the food industry.

Challenges in Scaling Potassium Salt Adoption

Potassium-enriched salt costs about twice as much as conventional salt on average, and a global switch would require boosting potassium chloride production and reworking food-industry supply chains, the sources noted. In Europe and North America, where more than 70% of salt intake comes from processed foods and restaurant meals rather than home cooking, the food industry would need to adopt the alternative for the maximum benefit to materialize, Neal said.

People with kidney disease face a specific risk: their bodies struggle to eliminate excess potassium, which can cause hyperkalemia — muscle weakness, numbness, chest pain or shortness of breath, National Geographic España reported. In healthy people, the kidneys remove excess potassium efficiently, making dangerous buildup unlikely.

Iodized Salt Shows the Path Is Possible

This would not be the first time altering salt’s composition transformed global health. During the 20th century, countries added iodine to table salt to fight iodine deficiency, which causes goiter and developmental brain problems. The strategy cut the number of countries where iodine deficiency was a public health problem from 113 to 19 in just over 20 years, between the early 1990s and 2016, according to UNICEF figures cited by WIRED.

Questions Readers Are Asking

How much salt should I eat per day?

The WHO recommends a maximum of 2 grams of salt daily and says intake should never exceed 5 grams, National Geographic España reported.

Is potassium salt safe for everyone?

People with kidney disease should be cautious, as high potassium levels can trigger hyperkalemia, according to National Geographic España.

Why hasn’t this salt replaced regular salt yet?

It costs roughly double the price of conventional salt, and scaling up would require expanded potassium chloride production plus adoption by the food industry, which supplies over 70% of salt intake in Europe and North America, WIRED and Infobae reported.

The researchers acknowledge the model describes an aspirational scenario: a worldwide transformation could take decades, and the food industry in Europe and North America has not yet committed to the switch.