Are there randomized controlled trials showing black salt reduces blood pressure in people with hypertension?

1. What the randomized-trial literature actually tests: sodium reduction and salt substitutes

Most high‑quality randomized evidence evaluates reduced sodium diets or potassium‑enriched salt substitutes, not branded or culinary “black salt.” Systematic reviews and randomized trials show modest but consistent blood‑pressure reductions from lowering dietary sodium: a Cochrane/BMJ meta‑analysis and WHO summary reported systolic BP falls of about 5.4 mmHg in hypertensive people with modest salt reduction (22 trials/990 hypertensives) and meaningful effects in subgroup analyses that included Black participants ^{[1] [4]}. Large community trials of potassium‑enriched salt also have demonstrated population blood‑pressure and cardiovascular benefits, which is the form of “salt replacement” most evaluated in randomized work ^{[2] [5]}.

2. What “black salt” claims and the evidence base say

A 2022 ResearchGate summary and small observational comparisons claim lower hypertension risk among users of black or Himalayan salts relative to regular sea/white salt, citing higher potassium/magnesium and lower sodium content in those salts ^[3]. Those reports are not randomized trials of black salt and appear observational or experimental-lab in nature; they do not substitute for randomized controlled evidence about clinical blood‑pressure outcomes ^[3]. Therefore, assertions that culinary black salt reduces hypertension in randomized fashion are not supported by the sources provided (available sources do not mention an RCT of culinary black salt reducing blood pressure).

3. Race-specific trial evidence and limitations

Trials and meta‑analyses have performed subgroup analyses by ethnic group and found salt reduction lowers blood pressure in whites, Blacks and South Asians in pooled randomized trials ^[4]. However, a historical Hypertension paper noted that, at least in earlier decades, there were no double‑blind, placebo‑controlled studies solely of salt reduction in Black individuals and framed the need for such trials ^[6]. That tension means while pooled randomized data include Black participants, wholly race‑specific, double‑blind salt‑reduction RCTs remain sparse according to the cited literature ^{[6] [4]}.

4. Why potassium-enriched salt gets the most randomized support

Public‑health bodies and recent position statements highlight potassium‑enriched salts (partially replacing NaCl with KCl) because large‑scale trials show blood‑pressure and cardiovascular benefits and these products have been trialed in randomized or community interventions ^{[2] [5]}. Systematic reviews include multiple trials of salt substitutes and salt‑reduction interventions that reduce BP; they also note short follow‑up is a limitation in many trials, and taste/acceptability can affect implementation ^{[5] [1]}.

5. Physiologic reasons for apparent race differences — and how that affects interpretation

Clinical and physiologic studies document higher salt sensitivity and impaired renal sodium excretion in many Black hypertensive patients, which provides a mechanistic rationale for salt reduction or substitution benefiting BP in this group ^{[7] [8]}. Those physiologic data support the plausibility of benefit but do not replace randomized outcome trials specifically testing black salt formulations ^{[7] [8]}.

6. Bottom line for clinicians and consumers

If the question is “are there randomized controlled trials showing that lowering sodium or using potassium‑enriched salt reduces BP in people with hypertension?” — yes: randomized trials and meta‑analyses show modest-to-moderate reductions in systolic and diastolic BP, including pooled subgroup effects in Black participants ^{[1] [4] [2]}. If the question is “are there randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trials specifically showing culinary ‘black salt’ lowers BP in hypertensive people?” — current reporting in the provided sources does not identify such trials (available sources do not mention an RCT of culinary black salt) ^{[3] [6]}.

Limitations: the literature includes many short trials, some community interventions rather than tightly blinded RCTs, and heterogeneous interventions (dietary counseling, salt substitutes, sodium targets), which complicates direct translation to any single branded or artisanal salt product ^{[1] [5]}.