Potassium chloride replacers and US sodium and potassium intakes
What it found
In computer models based on US national food survey data, swapping some added salt for potassium chloride in the top sources of sodium lowered predicted sodium intake and raised predicted potassium intake.
The most likely replacement scenario brought sodium close to the FDA's short-term goal of 3000 mg a day.
What they found
Total replacement model
If all added sodium chloride in the 18 top sodium sources were swapped for potassium chloride, predicted sodium intake fell by 41% to 2004 mg a day and potassium intake rose by 75% from 2502 to 4372 mg a day. The authors call this an unrealistic upper bound.
Feasible replacement model
Under the most likely feasible and practical replacement, predicted sodium intake fell by 9% to 3117 mg a day and potassium intake rose by 16% from 2502 to 2892 mg a day. The range across low and high estimates was 2953 to 3255 mg sodium a day.
Sodium to potassium ratio
The average ratio of sodium to potassium in the diet was 1.5 in 2015-2016 and 1.4 in 2009-2010. Under the modeled replacements, the ratio fell to between 1.0 and 1.3 for feasible replacement and to 0.5 for total replacement.
Potassium levels
The most likely feasible replacement kept average potassium intake within recommended ranges for apparently healthy people. Total replacement gave an estimated 4372 mg of potassium a day, below the 4700 mg previously recommended for adults.
FDA sodium goals
The authors say the feasible replacement could bring sodium down to a level consistent with the FDA's short-term goal of 3000 mg a day. It could not reach the long-term goal of about 2300 mg a day on its own.
What the authors conclude
“The replacement of NaCl with KCl in select foods therefore provides a strategy to help lower the US population's intake of sodium, though implementation of additional strategies will be required to reach reductions in sodium intake consistent with long-term sodium reduction goals.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that feasible and practical use of potassium chloride as a replacement for sodium chloride in the 18 top sodium sources could reduce sodium intake to a level consistent with the FDA's short-term goal of about 3000 mg a day.
- They say mean potassium intake would remain in the range recommended for the apparently healthy population.
- They advise that additional strategies will be needed to reach sodium reductions consistent with long-term goals.
How it was done
Sodium intake in the USA exceeds recommendations, and replacing added sodium chloride with potassium chloride is seen as a possible way to cut sodium. The authors wanted to estimate what this swap would do to how much sodium and potassium the US population takes in.
They used food survey data from NHANES 2015-2016 (7918 people) and 2009-2010 (9042 people), aged 2 years and older, to find the top sources of sodium in the diet. They then modeled replacing added sodium chloride with potassium chloride in the 18 top-ranking food categories, using replacement levels judged feasible and practical by 20 experts from academia, industry and consulting.
What it can’t tell you
- This is a modeling study based on survey data, not a trial in people. It estimates what intakes could be, not what would actually happen if potassium chloride replaced salt in the food supply.
- The models assume potassium chloride replacement was not already widely used in the food supply at the time of the surveys.
- The analysis is based on one day of dietary recall, which may not capture everything people usually eat.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Center for Chemical Regulation & Food Safety, USA; North Carolina State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Potassium chloride-based replacers: modeling effects on sodium and potassium intakes of the US population with cross-sectional data from NHANES 2015-2016 and 2009-2010
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Murphy MM, Scrafford CG, Barraj LM, et al (2021). Potassium chloride-based replacers: modeling effects on sodium and potassium intakes of the US population with cross-sectional data from NHANES 2015-2016 and 2009-2010. The American journal of clinical nutrition. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqab020Free full textPubMed 33755042DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error