Switching to potassium-enriched salt could prevent millions of global deaths

Researchers from The George Institute for Global Health assessed the health benefits of switching the salt supply to potassium-enriched salt across 193 countries. They found almost three million deaths and ten million new cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease could be prevented globally each year.

Bruce Neal, Senior Professorial Fellow at The George Institute said the health gains would be widespread and could avert as many as one in ten cardiovascular deaths in most countries.

While a global shift from regular salt to a potassium-enriched substitute is asprational, this is a starting point to get countries thinking about the opportunity - with much greater potential and at mcuh lower cost than many drug-based treatments." Bruce Neal, Senior Professorial Fellow, The George InstituteConsuming too much sodium and not enough potassium are well established causes of high blood pressure - a major risk factor for life threatening conditions like strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease. Switching to potassium-enriched salt addresses both these dietary issues at the same time, with substantial health benefits.

Potassium-enriched salt is made by replacing some of the sodium chloride - which makes up regular table salt - with potassium chloride. It looks, tastes, and cooks like regular salt. In 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the use of potassium-enriched salt to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study examined a range of hypothetical scenarios, from a full global switch of all salt to more targeted use among people with diagnosed and treated high blood pressure. Even the most limited level of switching still showed major health gains.

For the world's adult population (4.6 billion people):

For 80% of people with diagnosed or treated hypertension only (659 million people diagnosed, 524 million people treated):

While the potential benefits are large, one concern is the risk of high potassium levels (hyperkalaemia) in people with advanced kidney disease. The study found, however, that even among patients with advanced kidney disease the benefits outweighed the risks.

"People with serious kidney disease and those taking medications that significantly raise blood potassium levels need to take precautions. Risks for this group can be managed effectively through patient education, product labelling, and clinical oversight," said nephrologist Professor Vivek Jha, Senior Professorial Fellow at The George Institute in India.

Professor Neal highlighted the need for country-specific strategies, tailored to whether most sodium intake comes from household salt or processed foods.

"To realise the maximum benefits from switching to potassium-enriched salt, we need to see the food industry in Europe and North America – where over 70% of salt intake comes from processed and restaurant foods – get on board. This would also require investigating ways to scale up the production of potassium chloride to meet demand," he said.

Estimated annual health impact of replacing all salt with potassium-enriched salt:

Source:

George Institute for Global Health

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