Potassium-enriched salt substitutes: benefits, risks and a “trolley problem” in public health

The WHO recommends a dietary sodium intake of <2 g/d for adults to lower blood pressure (BP) and prevent its adverse consequences, primarily cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. In India, the estimated average sodium intake is ∼4 g/d (twice the WHO limit) and 1 in 4 adults (∼207 million people) have hypertension. Scalable public health interventions are urgently needed to reduce dietary sodium intake on a population level.