Effect of a 6-month Low Sodium Diet on the Salt Taste Perception and Pleasantness, Blood Pressure and the Urinary Sodium Excretion in Female College Students

ABSTRACT

The study aim was to examine the effect of sensory responses of subjects after 6-month dietary sodium reduction with the aid of nutritional education. Fourteen female college students voluntarily restricted their sodium intake for 6 months, during which time they received nutritional education on the low sodium diet. As a control group, 10 students, whose anthropometric measurement, sodium intake behavior, and blood pressure were not different from those of the experimental group, were maintained on a normal diet. For the sensory responses of subjects, the salt taste perception and pleasantness for graded (0.15-1.3%) NaCl solutions were measured by a 9-point hedonic scale. The optimum sodium concentration, urinary sodium excretion, and blood pressure were measured. All the measurements were done at the beginning and end of the experiment. The sensory evaluation revealed an absence of any difference between the two groups in salt taste perception and pleasantness responses at the beginning. After 6-month adaptation, the experimental group subjects showed higher responses to low NaCl solution (0.15, 0.3, 0.5%) in salt taste perception and pleasantness evaluation while the control group subjects exhibited the opposite response. The optimum sodium concentration was reduced from 105.6 mmol to 80.7 mmol (p = 0.015) and the urinary sodium excretion was also reduced from 1,398 mg to 906 mg (p = 0.041) only in the experimental group. Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced in the experimental group, although there was no correlation between the urinary sodium excretion and blood pressure. The optimum sodium concentration was negatively correlated with the urinary sodium excretion (r = 0.418, p = 0.053), indicating that adaptation to low sodium diet can reduce sodium intake. Further study on the individual responses of subjects on a low sodium diet by periodical evaluation may provide useful data for setting the duration needed to stabilize a lowered appetite for sodium.