ABSTRACT
If the average person is asked about potassium and nutrition, the person is likely to say two things. One, it is found in bananas, and two, it prevents cramps. Beyond that, there is not a tremendous amount of public awareness of this mineral, though there have been attempts to raise public consciousness. For example, a high-potassium diet was touted as an antidote to high blood pressure in the popular press book
The High Blood Pressure Solution: Natural Prevention and Cure with the K Factor
(by Richard D. Moore, Healing Art Press, 1993). Although there are various medical uses of potassium compounds as prescription
medicines, supplement companies have not given tremendous attention to potassium. One reason is that consumers have to take a lot of pills or capsules to make a major impact on their daily potassium intake. This is not an easy sell to consumers without compelling arguments. Thus, supplement companies have generally decided to put their efforts elsewhere. Nonetheless, there are some faint rumblings that potassium may become of more concern to the general public and biomedical community. If this does happen, we may see more of an advertising push for supplements, though food fortification may become more prominent (due to the pill or capsule dose issue just noted). The fortification approach may become especially prevalent with meal replacement products.
