yet the majority of people in the U.S. get vastly more

than the recommended amount of sodium, and, it turns out,

far less than the recommended amount of potassium.

In this 3-part video series, we'll look at the optimal levels

of sodium, potassium, and then at a salt substitute

that may help balance out this ratio and save lives.

"Fewer than 1 in 5,000 Meet Sodium and Potassium Recommended Intake"

Worldwide, physical inactivity accounted for more than 10 million years

of healthy life lost, but what we eat accounts for nearly 20 times that.

Unhealthy diets shave hundreds of millions of disability-free years off

of people's lives every year.

What are the worst aspects of our diets? Four out of the five of the deadliest

dietary traps involve not eating enough of certain foods.

Not eating enough whole grains, not eating enough fruits,

not eating enough nuts and seeds, and not eating enough vegetables.

But our most fatal flaw is too much salt.

That's on the order of 15 times deadlier than diets too high in soda,

for example, just to keep things in perspective.

There remains no single more effective public health action

related to nutrition than the reduction of sodium in the diet.

This is why national and international health organizations have called

for warning labels on salt packets and salt shakers,

with messages like "Too much sodium in the diet causes high blood pressure

and increases risk of stomach cancer, stroke, heart disease,

and kidney disease. Limit your use."

Salt also increases inflammation. For example, sodium intake

is associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis,

an inflammatory autoimmune nerve condition,

about three to four times the exacerbation rate in those

with medium or high sodium intakes

compared to those getting less than a teaspoon of salt total in a day.

Just as you can see higher sodium levels in the tissues of those

who suffer from lupus, another serious inflammatory autoimmune disease,

you can correlate high sodium levels in the spinal cord of MS patients

with the disease and decreased structural integrity.

Where's sodium found though? Really crappy foods.

So it's hard to know if increased salt intake

is just a marker for a bad diet overall.

But what we do know is that salt and high blood pressure

are cause-and-effect. How?

Because we have more than a hundred randomized controlled trials

demonstrating that if you cut down on added salt, your blood pressures fall,

and the more you cut down, the better. Part of the mechanism may actually be

the damage salt may do to your microbiome, the friendly flora

in your gut. And no wonder.

Our bodies evolved only to handle about 750 mg a day.

The American Heart Association says we should stay under

at least twice that about,

but we're eating more than four times what's natural.

And it's only getting worse, increasing over the last decade.

Anyone care to guess what percentage of Americans exceed

the 1,500 mg upper limit recommendation?

98.8%. And that was more than a decade ago.

The vast majority of U.S. adults consume too much sodium, and

at the same time, too little potassium, a mineral that lowers blood pressure.

Less than 2% of U.S. adults consumed the recommended

daily minimum intake of potassium.

So more than 98% of Americans eat potassium deficient diets.

This deficiency is even more striking when comparing our current intake

with that of our ancestors, who consumed large amounts of dietary potassium.

We evolved getting probably more than 10,000 mg a day.

The recommendation is to get around at least around half that,

yet most of us don't even come anywhere close.

Put the two guidelines together, and sodium and potassium goals

are currently met by less than 0.015% of the U.S. population.

So we're talking close to 99.99% noncompliance,

as in only 1 in 6,000 Americans even hits the recommended guidelines.

What about using potassium-based salt substitutes?

Instead of using sodium chloride—salt—

why not shake on some potassium chloride?

Seems a little too good to be true. I mean, same salty taste, but you're

reducing sodium while at the same time increasing your potassium intake?

Is there a catch?

Are potassium-based salt substitutes safe? Effective?

We'll find out next.