A small study published at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) scientific conference acnap euroheartcare Congress 2022 showed that taste adaptation interventions reduced salt consumption and increased preference for sodium restricted diets in patients with hypertension**
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"One of the main obstacles to adhering to a low salt diet is that people don't like the taste, but few studies have addressed this issue. Our pilot studies of patients with hypertension show that it is possible to change their taste and learn to like low salt foods," said Professor MISOOK Chung of the University of Kentucky in Lexington
Hypertension affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and is the leading cause of premature death worldwide. These people are advised to adopt a healthy lifestyle - including salt restriction - to delay the demand for antihypertensive drugs or supplement their effects. However, the blood pressure benefits of programs that reduce sodium intake tend to decrease over time, in part due to poor compliance.
To this end, the researchers developed the sodium observer program - hypertension (swap HTN) to gradually adapt to the taste of low salt food. This study examined the short-term effects on sodium intake, blood pressure, preference for salty foods, and enjoyment of a sodium restricted diet. A total of 29 adult patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to intervention or routine care, with a ratio of 2:1. Participants in the routine care group received routine hypertension treatment and care, including following the recommendations of a sodium limited diet and taking prescription drugs.
The intervention group received 16 weeks of education and followed up with the study nurses through video calls on tablets. The weekly course lasted six weeks, and then every two weeks for 10 weeks. The program is based on each patient's barriers and weekly goals, including adding salt to the table, using salt when cooking, buying vegetables and eating in restaurants. Participants received an electronic device to detect salt levels so they could identify and avoid high salt foods.
Professor Chung pointed out: "The first step is to make patients aware of how much salt they eat. Using this electronic device, they can test the salt content of restaurant meals and ask the chef to reduce or eliminate salt during their next visit. In addition, they can use it at home to reduce the salt content in their cooking. Some people automatically add salt to the table before tasting the food, so we asked participants to calculate the number of 'shakes' and set the reduction The goal of salt. Most participants removed the salt shaker from the table within three weeks. "
At baseline and 16 weeks, all participants provided 24-hour urine samples to assess sodium intake, and their blood pressure was measured. In addition, preference for salty foods and preference for salt restricted diets were assessed on a 10 point scale.
The average age of participants was 63 years, and 55% were men. Three patients withdrew from the study, and the final analysis included 17 and 9 participants in the intervention group and routine care group, respectively. The researchers compared the changes between groups from baseline to study completion. Among them, the intervention measures resulted in a significant reduction in sodium intake and increased preference for salt limited diet. The mean systolic blood pressure in the intervention group decreased from 143.4 mmHg to 133.9 mmHg, but did not reach statistical significance. The intervention did not change people's preference for salty food.
Professor Chung said: "in the intervention group, sodium intake decreased by 1158 mg per day, which was 30% lower than the baseline, while the control group increased by 500 mg per day. Although patients still liked salty food, the intervention group's preference for low salt diet increased from 4.8 on a 10 point scale to 6.5. Due to the small sample size, the intervention probably did not translate into a statistically significant decrease in blood pressure."
Professor Chung concluded: "our research shows that we can retrain our taste buds to enjoy low sodium foods and gradually reduce our salt consumption. Progressive taste adaptation may control blood pressure, but it needs to be tested in larger trials and followed up for a longer time."