A typical Korean cuisine table. (image: Lotte Department Store)
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Koreans consume an excessive amount of sodium, but it does not affect their mortality rate, a study showed Wednesday.
A research team from Severance Hospital analyzed 143,050 adult participants in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, which showed that they consumed 2,500 milligrams of sodium every day, falling short of the measurements by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
The research team divided the participants into five groups to measure the effects of sodium on the risk of death over a 10-year span.
The results showed that there were no differences between groups in terms of overall fatality rate and the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.
The overall fatality rate and the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases of the group that consumed the largest amount of potassium, however, were 21 percent and 32 percent lower than the group that consumed the least amount of potassium.
How sodium is consumed takes different patterns across various races, regions, and countries, which may affect diseases and fatality rates differently, the research team said.
For instance, sodium is mostly an additive in processed food products in western countries, through which people consume most of their sodium.
In contrast, Koreans consume sodium from a traditional diet like grains seasoned with garlic, green onion, pepper, and ginger, or fermented food products like kimchi, soy sauce and bean paste.
“The study showed that proper consumption of potassium prevents side effects caused by excessive consumption of sodium, lowering overall fatality rate and the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases,” said Lee Ji-won, a family medicine at Severance Hospital.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
