Stress Condition on a Restricted Sodium Diet Using Umami Substance (L-Glutamate) in a Pilot Randomized Cross-Over Study.

Hypertensive patients who adopt a sodium-restricted diet have difficulty maintaining this change, and this could increase stress. On the other hand, soup rich in umami substances (dashi) was reported to reduce indexes of anxiety and stress. The objective of this study was to measure mood and physiological stress indexes during administration of a sodium-restricted diet with and without an umami substance (free L-glutamate) by a cross-over randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Japanese female university students. The baseline was measured for 5 days followed by a sodium-restricted diet intervention phase that lasted for 10 days. The Profile of Mood States questionnaire was administered, a stress marker in saliva (chromogranin-A) was measured, and the amount of sodium intake was confirmed from 24 h urine collection samples. Results showed that the sodium reduction was verified by 24 h urine excretion. The percentage of change in the stress marker from the baseline showed that the stress level in group without the umami substance was significantly higher than that in the group with the umami substance (p = 0.013) after receiving a sodium-reduced diet for 6 or more days, indicating that stress was alleviated. This study suggested that umami substances might help to ameliorate stress during a sodium-reduced diet, especially in the initial phase.

Moisture and mineral content of human feces--high fecal moisture is associated with increased sodium and decreased potassium content--.

BACKGROUND: The origin of moisture in diarrhea feces is unknown but may represent the unabsorbed part of intestinal contents or alternatively, body fluid excreted into the digestive canal. If the latter mechanism contributes to moisture in the feces, active transport of water (H2O) associated with ion exchange channels may be involved. OBJECTIVE: To investigate this possibility we measured the content of moisture and minerals (sodium [Na], potassium [K], calcium [Ca], magnesium [Mg], phosphorus [P], zinc [Zn], iron [Fe], copper [Cu] and manganese [Mn]) in feces collected during a 12-d metabolic study on 11 young Japanese female students. DESIGN: The study was carried out as part of a human mineral balance study. The same quantity of food was supplied to each of the subjects throughout the study without consideration of body weight. Fecal specimens were collected throughout the study and were separated into those originating from the diet during the balance period based on the appearance of the ingested colored marker in the feces. RESULTS: The moisture content of the feces ranged between 53 and 92%. Na content in the feces was low and stable when the moisture content was below 80%, whereas it increased up to serum levels when the moisture content increased above 80%. On the other hand, K content increased when compared to dry matter base. However, when comparing concentration/g moisture, K content increased when moisture was below 70%, but decreased when this rose above 70%.

Antioxidant activity of various teas against free radicals and LDL oxidation.

Tea is a widely consumed beverage throughout the world. We assessed the antioxidant activity of six teas, including the aqueous extracts of green tea and oolong tea (Camellia sinensis), tochu (Eucommia ulmoides), Gymnema sylvestre, Japanese mugwort (Artemisia princeps), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and LDL oxidation, and examined the association of LDL oxidizability with the plasma catechin levels in 10 healthy volunteers with a single dose of 5 g green tea powder. In vitro, the inhibitory effects of DPPH radicals and LDL oxidation were found to be strongest in the extract of green tea and weakest in that of barley. After the ingestion of green tea powder, the lag time increased from basal 52.2 +/- 4.1 to 60.3 +/- 4.2 min at 1 h and 59.5 +/- 4.1 min at 2 h, and then returned to the baseline lag time (51.9 +/- 1.4 at 4 h and 52.1 +/- 4.7 min at 6 h). Regarding the plasma catechin levels, epigallocatechingallate and epicatechingallate significantly increased from basal 3.7 +/- 1.3 and 0.8 +/- 0.8 ng/mL to 65.7 +/- 11.6 and 54.6 +/- 12.6 ng/mL at 1 h, and 74.4 +/- 18.6 and 49.4 +/- 7.1 ng/mL at 2 h, respectively. Green tea therefore showed the strongest antioxidant activity among the six different teas, and the inhibitory effects of green tea on LDL oxidation depended on the plasma catechin levels.