Simple dietary advice reduces 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, blood pressure, and drug consumption in hypertensive patients

Sodium intake should be restricted to 100 mEq, that is, about 2.3  grams per day. Strict diets, however, are often cumbersome and seldom matched by rigorous compliance. We studied 291 patients on antihypertensive treatment, 240 of whom were instructed to avoid salty foods, such as cheese and cured meats, and to switch from regular bread to salt-free bread. The re maining 51 matched patients constituted a control group and received only generic dietary advice. Na[U]/24h, K[U]/24h, and office BP (automated repeated measurements) were recorded before dieting started and after 9 ± 1 weeks of dieting.
Source: Journal of the American Society of Hypertension - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Research Article Source Type: research