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HYPERTENSION

Is salt substitution ready for prime time?

Salt substitutes hold great potential for the control of blood pressure and prevention of chronic disease, but the evidence base remains inadequate. Data from a community-based trial in Peru add to this evidence base and support the conduct of large-scale trials to drive the global uptake of salt substitution.

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Fig. 1: Estimated population-wide benefits and risks of replacing regular salt with a potassium-enriched salt substitute in China.

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Correspondence to Bruce Neal or Matti Marklund.

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Competing interests

B.N. has received a salt substitute used for research trials from the Beijing Salt Manufacturing Corporation and NuTek. B.N. is the chair of the steering committee for an ongoing, large-scale trial assessing the effects of salt substitution on stroke. M.M. declares no competing interests.

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Neal, B., Marklund, M. Is salt substitution ready for prime time?. Nat Rev Cardiol 17, 325–326 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-020-0365-0

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