Q. You recently pointed out the importance of balancing potassium and sodium intake. They already add iodine, fluoride and/or iron to table salt. Why is there no potassium-enriched table salt?
A. Actually, there is (sort of). Low-sodium salt substitutes are usually made with potassium chloride, a mineral salt formed from potassium instead of sodium. Potassium chloride tastes salty, but can have a bitter or metallic aftertaste. On the plus side, a quarter teaspoon contains 650 mg of potassium!
See also: The Great Salt Debate
It’s an interesting oddity in the U.S. that if you buy an over-the-counter potassium supplement, you’ll only get a tiny fraction of the potassium in a quarter tsp of “salt subsitute.”
People taking certain drugs (e.g., triamterene and spironolactone) or with impaired kidney function need to be careful not to overdose on potassium, whether in salt or a supplement.
-Steve