Pass the potassium salt: Is this the next population health revolution?
There is too much sodium in our diets and not enough potassium — an obvious problem to anyone who learnt about the sodium-potassium pump in biology class.
This is why Dr Kathy Trieu (PhD), a nutrition expert at the George Institute for Global Health, is leading a campaign to shift to potassium-enriched salt.
The logic is simple: the average global sodium consumption has not decreased over the past decade despite a widespread understanding of the health harms.
Several studies have shown that trying to correct the imbalance of the two electrolytes by switching to a substitution salt of 25% potassium chloride and 75% sodium chloride can reduce blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular events.