The higher the potassium (kalium) intake, the lower the mortality rate, a study said Wednesday. Potassium intake also had an effect on lowering the fatality rate due to cardiovascular disease, it added.

Contrary to what is widely known or misperceived, sodium intake (natrium) does not influence death. However, if people take lots of potassium, the death rate could fall by 21 percent, according to the study.

Three Severance hospital professors – Lee Jin-won of the Family Medicine Department at Shinchon Severance, Kwon Yu-jin of the Family Medicine Department at Yongin Severance, and Lee Hye-sun of the Medical Statistics Department at Gangnam Severance – conducted the study jointly.

Sodium and potassium are essential nutrients that maintain the body’s moisture and control osmotic pressure. However, heavy sodium intake has been known to push up blood pressure, adversely affecting cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization’s recommended sodium intake is 2 grams a day.

However, recent studies showed that too little intake of sodium is not good for health, triggering a debate on the relationship between sodium and health.

So, the three researchers studied the relationship between sodium and potassium intake and mortality and cardiovascular mortality in 143,050 Korean adults using the nation’s genome epidemiology data.

As a result of a food intake frequency survey to determine the nutrient intake of the study subjects, the average daily sodium intake was 2.5g, and potassium intake was 2.2g.

Among the subjects, 5,436 died during the follow-up period of 10.1 years, and 985 died of cardiovascular disease.

Based on sodium and potassium intake, the research team divided the dead into five quintiles and examined the effects of the two nutrients’ intake on deaths and cardiovascular deaths.

The sodium intake exerted no influence on the cardiovascular fatality rate. However, the group in the fifth quintile with high potassium intake showed a 21 percent lower total mortality rate than the first quintile group. Notably, the cardiovascular death rate was 32 percent lower.

“The study showed that Koreans’ potassium intake remained at half of the recommended level, and the sufficient intake of it lowered the mortality rate in general and cardiovascular fatality rate in particular,” Professor Lee said. “People must eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rich in potassium.”

The study result was published in the latest issue of Frontiers in Nutrition.