British v American recommended daily amounts

Ed_Aveyard

I am enjoying using Cronometer. As I live in Britain, I've noticed that the NHS's recommendations for vitamins and minerals are different from those in Cronometer (which are understandably based on American recommendations).

There is an interactive website here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/

You can see all the NHS's dietary recommendations in one go here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/618167/government_dietary_recommendations.pdf

To take one example for a 34-year-old male (e.g. me), the NHS recommends 3500mg of potassium per day whereas Cronometer recommends 4700mg of potassium per day.

Why is there this difference? I can imagine that the climate of a country might require some change in requirements, but I cannot understand why the change between the UK and USA would be so much for potassium.

Ed_Aveyard

I'm surprised by the lack of answer. Is it really the case that nobody has thought about this before?

Hilary

My apologies @Ed_Aveyard , I must have missed this one, as I do check and try to answer questions on the forum daily.

The National Academies recently issued new dietary reference intakes for potassium and sodium. We have updated the Potassium and sodium targets to match the new recommendations. You can view the new targets here: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25353/dietary-reference-intakes-for-sodium-and-potassium.

I am unable to comment on the difference btween the two countries' recommendations, however you van review a summary from the WHO regarding Potassium targets here: https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/potassium_intake_printversion.pdf

Ed_Aveyard

Hi, Hilary. Thank you for your response. I appreciate the two links. It's good that you do your research.

Susan_RD_101

@Ed_Aveyard

Hello!

I've been away for 6 weeks in a jungle so am just getting to questions now.

There is a lot of debate between countries on the ideal amounts of various nutrients. When this happens, I tend to treat the different targets as a range (i.e. ideal potassium is likely between 3500-4700 mg per day). When countries agree on a target, it's usually because the research is compelling enough to resolve any debate.

Hope this clarifies things and let me know if there are any follow-up questions.

Kind regards,