The Study
Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death.
This study is like a big experiment where some people used a special salt and others used regular salt, and the ones with the special salt had fewer heart problems. But we don’t know if everyone was kept secret about which salt they got, so it’s not 100% certain the salt caused the difference — but it’s still our best guess so far.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Older people who used a special salt with less sodium and more potassium had fewer heart problems and lived longer than those who used regular salt.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 568 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — the reductions mean about 1 in 7 fewer strokes and deaths over nearly 5 years, which is meaningful for older adults at risk.
- 2Stroke: 33.65 down to 29.14 per 1000 people per year.
- 3Heart events: 56.29 down to 49.09.
- 4Death: 44.61 down to 39.28.
- 5High potassium side effects: almost the same (3.35 vs.
- 63.30).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The New England journal of medicine
Year
2021
Authors
B. Neal, Yangfeng Wu, Xiangxian Feng, Ruijuan Zhang, Yuhong Zhang, Jingpu Shi, Jianxin Zhang, M. Tian, Liping Huang, Zhifang Li, Yan Yu, Yi Zhao, Bo Zhou, Jixin Sun, Yishu Liu, Xuejun Yin, Z. Hao, Jie Yu, Ka-Chun Li, Xinyi Zhang, Peifen Duan, Faxuan Wang, B. Ma, Weiwei Shi, G. D. Di Tanna, S. Stepien, Sana Shan, Sallie-Anne Pearson, Nicole Li, Lijing L. Yan, D. Labarthe, P. Elliott
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you swap out regular table salt for a special salt that has less sodium and more potassium, it might help you have fewer strokes, heart problems, and even live longer — plus it could gently lower your blood pressure.
Eating more potassium-rich foods like bananas and spinach can help lower your blood pressure and make it less likely you'll have a stroke or heart problem—especially if you're eating a lot of salty foods.
If you're over 60 and have had a stroke or high blood pressure, switching to a special salt that has less sodium and more potassium might help lower your chances of having another heart attack or stroke.
For older adults who’ve had a stroke or high blood pressure, switching to a special salt that has less sodium and more potassium doesn’t raise the risk of dangerous potassium levels in the blood.
If you're over 60 and have had a stroke or high blood pressure, switching to a special salt that has less sodium and more potassium might help you have fewer strokes.
If you're over 60 and have had a stroke or high blood pressure, switching to a special salt that has less sodium and more potassium might help you live longer — it could lower your chance of dying from any cause by about 12%.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.