Two separate studies showed that 1) Adding salt to your prepared food is bad for you. 2) Replacing salt with a salt substitute is good for you.

Instead of looking at total salt intake—which for years has been linked to high blood pressure (and high blood pressure is one of the top five preventable conditions that shorten lives)—this recent study looked at people who regularly add salt to already prepared food, which may have salt already in it. The study found that, compared with the “never/rarely” group, the “always adding salt to foods” group was 28% more likely to die prematurely—equating to roughly 2 years lower life expectancy. The findings also support the notion that even a modest reduction in sodium intake is likely to result in substantial health benefits.

Adding salt to foods (usually at the table) is a common eating behavior directly related to an individual’s long-term preference for salty tasting foods and habitual salt intake. In the western diet, it is difficult to estimate sodium intake using traditional dietary assessment methods because most sodium is typically hidden in processed foods and varies from brand to brand.

Salt substitutes are an option people can use to help lower blood pressure. Many salt substitutes (and the one used in a recent study), called lite-salt, swap a portion of the sodium chloride (typical salt) with potassium chloride (the mineral potassium) because they taste similar but have a different nutritional profile. The hypothesis is that the high-potassium intake may attenuate the adverse association of high-sodium intake with health outcomes. In other words, the benefits of potassium may counteract—not just avoid—the negative effects of sodium.

Among patients with prior stroke or hypertension, a salt substitute was effective at improving health outcomes. Participants who used a salt substitute had roughly 12% lower chance of death from any cause, including a 13% less chance of having a stroke or a major adverse cardiovascular event. In the study population, 73% had a history of stroke and 88% had a history of hypertension.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends consuming a maximum of 2,300 milligrams of salt per day and ideally no more than 1,500 mg for people with high blood pressure. The average sodium intake for Americans is closer to 3,400 mg per day, according to the AHA. Just one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,325 milligrams of sodium, which alone will push you over the AHA’s recommended intake.

Is it time to put the salt shaker away? The evidence would seem to say “yes”. I rarely add salt at the table, but after reading these recent reports, I bought a potassium-based salt substitute that has no sodium. The taste profile is surprisingly similar to table salt, and I will experiment with using it in cooking. The simple switch could potentially add years to your life.