This Nutrition Made Simple video “The Best Salt According to Science” says that it is.
In the YouTube description box, there are a bunch of cited studies, but, honestly, I’m not 100% sure it’s worth my time to read all of them in detail.
I have no background in nutrition.
Questions:
Thanks for any help!
Potassium supplements (in this case KCL) can be very harmful, especially if you have kidney problems. I’d only supplement it if you KNOW you aren’t getting the daily amount (~3500), or else I wouldn’t. With that said, I’d say potassium is best obtained from food.
As for your question, not really. Sodium chloride isn’t exactly bad, you need sodium to function (it’s an essential electrolyte). If you are getting an excess of it then yeah, it’s bad.
Humans have been able to isolate salt from the sea and from mines and therefore we tend eat a lot more sodium than is healthy. If your average daily sodium intake is less than 2000mg a day and you don’t have blood pressure issues then don’t worry about potassium chloride. If your intake of sodium is usually higher than 2000mg a day and/or you have high blood pressure or a family history of hypertension then it’s probably a good swap for you. Sodium is essential for our bodies to worl, but if we eat too much it effects our blood volume (water and electrolytes like sodium follow each other into and out of cells to maintain electrochemical gradients). If you think of veins as hoses and you’re now increasing the volume in those hoses, the pressure will go up. High blood pressure is a risk factor for a lot of serious conditions like strokes.
Yes and Yes, you don’t need to read any studies. A quick google search will show you how important potassium is!
And its not 100% potassium, lo-salt is like 50/50 so it basically cancels out the sodium and you get the extra benefits of increased potassium intake which normally comes from fruit and veg its a win-win
Not saying you shouldn’t take potassium, but be aware that high levels of potassium can interfere with your heart rhythm, which is why OTC potassium supplements are pretty worthless (most are only \~2% RDA).
That said, I will give a shout out to Oral Rehydration Salts which are awesome if you feel dehydrated (post-workout or post-drinking). Mixture of glucose, sodium, and potassium. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OG8GA7Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1