Health Law

Company Says Salt Substitute Adds Magnesium

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

With research suggesting that diets with inadequate sodium-to-magnesium and sodium-to-potassium ratios may be as much of a problem as diets with too much sodium, the Scoular Company has created Smart Salt, a product it says reduces sodium yet offers a healthy source of magnesium.

According to Deborah Rolf, executive vice president, Americas-Smart Salt, Inc., USDA researchers have found that over half of all Americans are not getting enough magnesium in their diets.

That's important in our sodium-dominant food culture, Rolf said, because nutritional magnesium is necessary not only for good energy and strong muscles, but also to properly metabolize salt.

Magnesium serves several functions in the body, among them contraction and relaxation of muscles, the functions of certain enzymes in the body, production and transport of energy, and production of protein.  Symptoms of magnesium deficiency can include headaches to high blood pressure and heart arrhythmias.

According to the Food and Nutrition Series by Colorado State University, more recent evidence suggests that dietary potassium may play a role in decreasing blood pressure. 

Potassium is involved in nerve function, muscle control and blood pressure. A diet low in potassium and high in sodium may be a factor in high blood pressure.  Increasing potassium in the diet may protect against hypertension in people who are sensitive to high levels of sodium.

Smart Salt is made with a patented ingredient called magnesal, using proprietory technology for a co-crystal primarily based on magnesium that is an alternative to sodium.

The company says that for those who consume two to three times more sodium than the (Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), who aren't getting enough magnesium or potassium, Smart Salt can eliminate 60 percent of the sodium found in typical table salt, and has added potassium and magnesium to rebalance sodium-potassium and sodium-magnesium ratios.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).