In January 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines recommending a switch from typical table salt to alternatives containing less sodium, aiming to reduce worldwide sodium intake by 30 percent in the next five years.
One of the leading causes of death globally is cardiovascular disease — and often, eating too much salt can contribute to that. The average person consumes significantly more salt than is healthy, resulting in an intake of four grams of sodium per day. It’s hard to get away from it: Our taste buds are used to the savory foods we cook at home or order at restaurants, and sodium is also found in many processed foods not only as a flavor enhancer, but as a preservative.
One alternative health experts tout is potassium-enriched salt, or potassium chloride. Like sodium chloride, it’s a naturally occurring compound, containing more potassium than it does sodium. It is generally safe to eat, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and could be used as a direct salt alternative for those without pre-existing conditions or vulnerabilities.
Over-Consuming Salt
Excessive consumption of sodium is common across cultures and borders, though certain methods of food preparation in different regions can further exacerbate salt consumption (such as pickled or preserved vegetables in Asian cuisine or processed meats in Western.)
Eating too much salt puts our health at risk. Excess sodium and chloride increase the amount of fluid in our blood, which can in turn strain vessel walls and force our hearts to work harder. This eventually leads to a rise in blood pressure, which can increase the risk of harmful events like stroke, kidney disease, and heart attacks.
In 2019, it was estimated that nearly 1.25 billion people in the world had hypertension, or high blood pressure. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) likewise stated that high blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of nearly 700,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2022.
Read More: Salt Is Necessary for the Body, but Over-Consuming Sodium Is Now Linked to Obesity
Potassium-Chloride as a Healthier Alternative
In some cases, scientists argue, it’s preventable — changing the way we consume salt is one of the most cost-effective ways to do it. Potassium chloride then comes into the picture as a seemingly serendipitous alternative to your typical sodium chloride.
While on average, people eat much more salt than they need, they don’t get as much potassium as the WHO’s recommended 3.5 grams per day — and both minerals are necessary to maintain properly balanced fluids, for example, and muscle health. Potassium chloride, for the most part, has a miniscule difference in taste, particularly when potassium content doesn’t stray above 30 percent.
Moreover, potassium chloride has been shown to lower blood pressure, a double-edged sword mitigating the more harmful effects of sodium. One analysis of 21 studies concerning salt alternatives and interventions found that those using potassium chloride had significantly improved levels of blood pressure, compared to those still using regular salt.
Meanwhile, a large trial of nearly 21,000 individuals who were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease demonstrated that substituting regular salt with potassium-enriched alternatives led to a 13 percent reduction in new cardiovascular events over a period of five years.
Though the long-term impact of salt alternatives is lesser studied so far, researchers have observed that participants using alternatives had improved survival rates for cardiovascular disease and all other causes of mortality in general. Their risk of stroke mortality also decreased.
Switching to an alternative that more-or-less tastes the same as the sodium chloride we know and love seems like a better path than weaning off salt altogether, at least from a home-cooking standpoint. So, is there a catch?
Is Potassium Chloride Safe?
While otherwise healthy individuals may be able to reap the benefits of switching to potassium-enriched salts, there are also potential risks to consider. Particularly in individuals with conditions like chronic kidney disease, they’re at higher risk of hyperkalemia — which results from too much potassium in blood, putting people at risk of life-threatening arrhythmias and even sudden cardiac death.
Additionally, people taking certain medications such as ACE inhibitors may be at greater risk of hyperkalemia due to excess potassium. Evidence largely supports the health benefits of potassium chloride, but experts say more research is needed to determine the precise impact of salt alternatives on occurrences of hyperkalemia.
In any case, it’s recommended to speak to your medical provider first before making any major dietary changes to potassium.
Read More: Salt Played a Pivotal Role in Ancient Human History
You Don’t Have to Sacrifice Flavor
Much of our salt intake also comes from processed foods, which presents a much more challenging conundrum when needing to cut down on salt. While changing the way foods are prepared could help decrease regular salt consumption across the population, reformulating industry-wide practices is difficult and slow. Some researchers have also pointed out the necessity to further clear up the role of potassium chloride as an effective preservative.
It’s possible that certain sodium-heavy sauces like soy sauce could benefit from using potassium-enriched substitutes, but potassium chloride itself often comes with a much higher price tag as well.
In the meantime, though, there are alternatives to even the alternative you could try. One example is the DASH Diet, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Named the best heart healthy diet and best diet for high blood pressure in 2025 by the U.S. News & World Report, this eating plan is supported by the National Institute for Health. It sets weekly nutritional goals and recommends eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains while limiting foods high in saturated fats, sugary beverages, and sweet treats.
Using different mixes of seasonings can also serve to reduce our reliance on sodium. Onion powder, garlic, ginger, herbs, and vinegars are just a few of the many ways to cut down on salt, without sacrificing flavor.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Cleveland Clinic. Are Salt Substitutes a Healthy Way to Lower Your Sodium Intake?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. High Blood Pressure Facts
National Library of Medicine. Effectiveness of salt substitute on cardiovascular outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy. The best of ‘best buys’: public health values of potassium-enriched salt substitute
National Library of Medicine. Potential use of salt substitutes to reduce blood pressure
American Heart Association. Potassium-Enriched Salt Substitutes as a Means to Lower Blood Pressure: Benefits and Risks
National Institute for Health. DASH Eating Plan
University Hospitals. Salt Substitutes: A Healthy Alternative to the Real Thing?
Katie Liu is a science journalist covering a variety of topics for Discover, ranging from space to human health to archaeology, among others. Her interest in science writing began during her time at Northwestern University, from where she graduated in 2024.
