Reduction in blood pressure with a sodium-reduced, potassium- and magnesium-enriched mineral salt in subjects with mild essential hypertension

Abstract

A parallel controlled clinical trial was carried out to investigate the effect on blood pressure (BP) of replacing normal salt with mineral salt in seasonings. After a 2-wk run-in period, 21 subjects (10 men and 11 women; age, 66.0 ± 7.6 yr) were given mineral salt in seasonings instead of normal salt [mineral salt (MS) group], while 20 subjects (10 men and 10 women; age, 65.9 ± 7.4 yr) continued to receive normal salt in seasonings [regular salt (RS) group] for the next 5 wk in the experimental (E) period. In the MS group, systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP decreased significantly from 134.7 ± 17.2/77.2 ± 9.7 at baseline (week 0) to 127.3 ± 12.0/73.5 ± 8.9 mmHg at the end of the E period (week 5), and the reductions in both SBP and DBP were larger in hypertensive subjects than in normotensive subjects in the MS group. The serum sodium and chloride concentrations decreased significantly, while the serum potassium and HDL-cholesterol concentrations increased significantly at week 5. The 24-h urinary sodium excretion decreased, and the 24-h potassium and magnesium excretions increased significantly from week 0 to week 5 in the MS group. In contrast, SBP, DBP, serum chemistry, and urinary electrolyte excretion did not change significantly in the RS group. These findings suggest that the excessive salt content and insufficient potassium and magnesium content of the present Japanese diet could be easily and safely corrected by replacing seasonings prepared with regular salt with those prepared with mineral salt.