Lite Salt has a mix of both the NaCl and the KCl. It is fine for most people but some have adverse reactions to increased Potassium intake.
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Thatâs the one I tried.
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Iâd noted several generalised news reports concerning the benefits of low sodium high potassium salt as an alternate food choice. They included at times advice for consumers who may have a health concern with excess potassium intake. I took it to be a health awareness issue similar to how we some need to avoid gluten or products containing nut products. I eventually found this article which offers a more creditable opinion.
RACGP - Salt substitutes named hypertension âgamechangerâ
The RACGP article is suggesting:
Professor Schutte
âIf the world switched from using regular salt to potassium-enriched it would prevent millions of strokes and heart attacks every year at very low cost,â
It seems a wider recommendation than simply a prescribed treatment for some patients. Woolworths list 4 brands of high potassium salt as everyday products.
The high cost of the product compared to everyday iodised and sea salt will cause some to look away. Up there with the Himalayan pink rock salt product choices. With salt just a little goes a long way.
P.S.
To note that despite many fast food choices offering a choice of salt flavours, high Potassium Salt and Himalayan salts are not yet options.
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Consuming potassium and sodium regularly is essential to health. Both can be harmful in excess for anybody. Increasing potassium beyond that in food has additional problems for some people with heart conditions, fluid imbalance and kidney conditions, and conflict with some medications.
I see no conflict between larger numbers of people substituting some potassium for sodium to avoid the problems of excess sodium and checking to see if you have any contraindications.
I have in mind the age group of the punters here, I bet that between us we have many more potential problems with excess potassium than a similar group of healthy 20-somethings. I donât ask anybody to believe me ask your doctor.
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I agree!
So I have some issues with this quote from the article:
I think thatâs over-reach, to say the least. The study in question was (with my emphasis)
⊠calling for blood pressure guidelines to include the following âstrong recommendationâ for patients with hypertension:
âPotassium-enriched salt with a composition of approximately 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride should be recommended to all patients with hypertension, unless they have advanced kidney disease, are using a potassium supplement, are using a potassium sparing diuretic or have another contra-indication.â
This is to help those patients reduce their sodium intake if theyâve found that too difficult, and to help them increase their potassium intake if they have no contra-indications to that, because too much sodium and too little potassium can both contribute to hypertension.
That doesnât mean itâd be a good idea to suddenly change all the sodium chloride-only salt currently added to foods worldwide to a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride.
What the study does seem to suggest is that the current RDI for potassium may be too low?
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One of the reasons for raising potassium salt blends as a substitute was its supposed general availability as a supermarket product. Itâs not a supplement.
Consumers regularly make informed choices between alternate (substitute) products. Do consummers have all the facts necessary to make those decisions for this type of product? Whether itâs a good idea Iâve an open mind. Fact, fad or fiction the product has benefits or is a safe choice?
Some posts have raised concerns for adverse impacts of the substitution in a general diet. Acknowledging those concerns are well founded, should the potassium salt substitute products be an everyday on the shelf product as they currently are? Noting also suggestions of obtaining medical advice before using the substitute.
The medical science concerning the use and risks of changing oneâs diet to include the substitute salt has some basis. One example The NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) delivered the following in 2021 based on the results from a large scale randomised trial.
CONCLUSIONS
Among persons who had a history of stroke or were 60 years of age or older and had high blood pressure, the rates of stroke, major cardiovascular events, and death from any cause were lower with the salt substitute than with regular salt. (Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia; SSaSS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02092090. opens in new tab.)
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I donât recall the details, but the study did take steps to establish that this effect wasnât just from the lower sodium intake. The extra potassium made a significant difference.
So potassium is a pretty important nutrient. No argument there.
The spread I use is Flora Pro Active, it is not a supplement, it is found in the supermarketâs Dairy products aisle and on the side of the tub it says:
âIf you are on a cholesterol lowering medication please consult your doctor while using Flora ProActiveâ.
On the container of Diet Rite Lite Salt it says:
Medical advice should be sought related to diets requiring low or restricted Sodium/Potassium intake. Not suitable for use with certain diuretics.
@SueW and I have posted about our personal experience, other than that it goes into the medical field, I would say we are not qualified to give that advice? Even if we were doctors in medicine we would need to know much more about our patients before we say anything?
PS I would hate to be responsible for someone consuming too much potassium (which can lead to kidney damage) after reading Prof. Schuttle and colleaguesâ paper/study on the people of South Africa benefitting from a potassium intake.
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So would I.
On the other hand too much Sodium in the diet is also a recognised serious health risk. The WHO (World Health Organisation) also makes clear statements concerning existing and excessive consumption of Sodium.
I took the point some of the articles were making was substitution to reduce sodium intake, deliver similar flavour enhancement, and better health outcomes. Agree excessive potassium intake was raised as a risk factor for some, per the links you and others have raised.
Itâs certainly a medical question in context for the greater population as to the overall health outcomes. Evident in the RACGP presenting a position.
A question Iâll be putting to my GP and Cardiologist on the next visit.
No doubt about your intentions in relation to wishing a better diet for better health.
Sodium reduction is an important, complex issueâŠmaybe more suitable for another timeâŠ
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I mix 50/50 MSG and kosher salt together. I keep it in a container. Just a pinch or two over my dinner make it sing. Very yummy.
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I use SAXA SALT table salt
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The wonder of MSG and itâs flavour enhancement. But why kosher salt? I think adding iodine to salt is a good thing which would be non kosher.
Kosher salt is not always kosher.
It is the used in the style that:
âKosher salt gets its name and meaning from an ancient Jewish tradition called kashrut. These are a set of strict dietary guidelines that guide the types of food allowed to be eaten to their preparation. One of the guidelines of this religious tradition is that eating meat containing blood is forbidden. Jews hence had to find a way to drain blood from meat, which led to the process of koshering. They would kosher meat by using a type of coarse-grained salt to drain blood from the meat. As used today in America, kosher salt does not necessarily adhere to Jewish culinary tradition but does meet some of its characteristics âŠ//⊠There are two types of kosher salt, the first is the coarse-grained kosher salt that is mined just like any other type of salt, and the other is kosher salt that meets traditional Jewish guidelines. For a kosher salt to be accepted as kosher, it has to be certified by a Jewish instituteâ (https://seasalt.com/salt-101/about-salt/kosher-salt-guide)
âThe name kosher salt is not necessarily a reference to Jewish culinary standards. Thereâs no rabbi blessing large industrial bins of salt in a warehouse somewhere. It doesnât come from religiously significant salt mines, nor is it a Jewish mineral (although it is nice in matzo ball soup). Kosher salt got its name because, historically, it was used for its effectiveness in koshering meat, the Jewish process of preparing meat for consumption. The larger grains draw out moisture from meat faster, which is part of the koshering processâ (What Is Kosher SaltâAnd Is It Really the Best? | Bon AppĂ©tit)
âKosher salt or kitchen salt [1] (also called cooking salt, rock salt, kashering salt, or koshering salt) is coarse edible salt usually without common additives such as iodine,[2][3][4][5] typically used in cooking and not at the table. It consists mainly of sodium chloride and may include anticaking agentsâ (Kosher salt - Wikipedia)
So kosher salt is normally now used to mean a larger flaked salt rather than always a religiously approved salt and may or may not contain iodine (though it is not likely to contain iodine).
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So really it is just about different sizes of flakes of salt.
Table salt, sea salt, kosher salt, himalayan salt lovingly transported by yaks, it is the same stuff. Good old NaCl.
Depends on how much one is prepared to pay for the hype, and whether one considers the addition of iodine essential for health. Which I do. And so do food standards Australia.
Iodine fortification | Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Just plain old Saxa for me.
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Most locals sell âcooking saltâ (aka kosher salt) with and without iodine, consumerâs choice. It is not expensive at $1.35/kg for store branded or twice the price for Saxa. They go a long way so not likely to become a budget breaker for most.
OTOH Himalayan, pink, and so on salts are premium priced at 3 to 4X accompanied by their possibly superior presentation on the table and dubious health claims re ancillary mineral content, especially considering the trace amounts one would ingest by preferencing them.
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I think that may be the only property that has a detectable effect on taste - but Iâm not sure. For some dishes it is said that grain size matters. These are where you sprinkle salt on food at the last minute; they say a larger grain feels/tastes better on the tongue. For any other way of using salt, the great majority, where the salt dissolves the grain size makes no difference as the grain is gone.
As for the different colours and impurities that are claimed to have marvellous taste, or wonderful health giving properties it is all Spiderman branding until I am shown a well made blind test where people can reliably tell the difference. But there isnât much point really as subjective feelings dominate in this area.
What about testing the grain size conjecture? I donât see how you can blind the subject and in any case visual appeal and texture are part of food enjoyment and if you like the look of little coloured grains on your food then enjoy. Food enjoyment is more than neuro-chemical reactions on the inside of your mouth.
I use nonames supermarket salt in cooking as I donât get any benefit from fancy named salt.
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The larger crystals create a different sensation. Table salt sized crystals and fine grind has a very uniform taste, such as distribution allows. The larger cooking crystals are usually not as closely distributed on the food and have what I could call, for lack of better terminology, little bursts of flavour, eg from personal perceptions the same amount of each âtypeâ of salt does result in a differing taste sensation with coarse winning every time.
âXâ amount of fine salt results in overall âsaltyâ when coarse does not because âsaltyâ is not uniform. It comes to personal preferences/taste.
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No it is not . Table salt contains various anti caking agents .Usually 554 sodium aluminosilicate Cooking salt does not .
Some salts even have a small amount of ferrocyanide added to quicken their dissolving properties in water .
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Depends on the brand of salt as to which anti-caking agent is used. If any.
To say that table salt contains things like 554 and cooking salt doesnât is incorrect. For instance Saxa cooking salt doesnât have 554, and instead has 535, sodium ferrocyanide.
But regardless, is there any suggestion that additives like anti-caking agents are somehow detrimental to the taste?
