People with kidney disease watch out for sodium and meet potassium

Scientists have recently warned people who are abstaining from potassium for health reasons or kidney disease to be careful with reduced sodium (the element that makes up sodium chloride - NaCl) that is being sold in supermarkets.

Reuters 2/2 led research by Canadian scientists published in the Academy of Nutrition and Diet magazine found that bags of sliced ​​meat and chicken with "reduced sodium" labels contained volume. Potassium is 44% higher than other types.

More and more sodium reduction products appear on the market - (Photo: The Gbobal and Mail).

The main reason is due to the additives containing potassium in the above products.

Food manufacturers use potassium or phosphorus and additives to replace sodium taste but often do not publish quantitative on product labels, explains University of Ottawa chief Pauline Darling.

Specifically, they analyzed labeled meat products that were reduced by a minimum of 25% of sodium taken from three major supermarket chains in Canada. In particular, these products contain from 210mg to 1,500mg of potassium per 100 grams, while food containing more than 200mg of potassium per serving has been considered to be high in potassium.

"On average, higher amounts of potassium contained in sodium meat and poultry products are equivalent to a portion of high potassium foods," explained Darling. Research suggests that potassium content should be clearly stated on the labels of these products.

Efforts to reduce sodium in processed products are making sodium-reducing foods appear more and more on supermarket shelves.

However, people with chronic kidney disease are advised to diet both sodium, phosphorus and potassium.