Science Daily reports that lower sodium intake may be beneficial to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
For two weeks, Emma McMahon, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, and her team of researchers led by principal investigator Katrina Campbell, studied the effects of a low salt diet (60 to 80 mmol per day) and a high salt diet (180 to 200 mmol per day) in 20 volunteers who were diagnosed with CKD.
They found that a low salt diet may reduce excess extracellular fluid by a liter, lower protein levels in urine by half, and decrease blood pressure levels in individuals with CKD.
“These are clinically significant findings, with this magnitude of blood pressure reduction being comparable to that expected with the addition of an anti-hypertensive medication and larger than effects usually seen with sodium restriction in people without CKD,” says McMahon. “If maintained long-term, this could reduce risk of progression to end-stage kidney disease—where dialysis or transplant is required to survive—by 30 percent.”
Lowering salt intake doesn't only do CKD patients good, but also healthy individuals who may be consuming too much sodium by regularly eating processed and junk food. Limit your sodium consumption to less than 100 mmol or one teaspoon a day.
(Photo by sen Sutherland via Flickr Creative Commons)
