We often take our food labels for granted – we assume that they are always correct and show all the available data. Ever since the horsemeat scandal people have been viewing food labels with a lot more scrutiny and now it seems that something important is being left off most of the foodstuff that we can buy.
According to a new study released by New York City health workers, the majority of packaged food does not contain the amount of potassium that is present in the item. This is worrying for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are many health-conscious people want to make sure they’re getting the right levels of potassium in their diet. And on a more sinister note, there are some people with impaired kidneys who need to monitor how much potassium they consume.
Among those people who do not have potassium-related diet restrictions, the mineral has been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Experts recommend you should get about 4.7 grams per day from your food. So there are certainly health benefits from taking the right amount.
A team of researchers analysed the labels of 6,560 foods from 61 different food categories. They found that only around 500 of those foodstuffs had packaging that stated the levels of potassium found inside. Given the importance of potassium to cardiovascular health, it is felt by many that the exact amount needs to be listed to help customers make informed decisions.
If you want to increase your potassium intake, then fruit and vegetables are a great place to start. The mineral can also be found in meat, fish, soy and dairy, so there’s no excuse not to be getting plenty of it into your system.
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