Na and K Intake from Lunches Served in a Japanese Company Cafeteria and the Estimated Improvement in the Dietary Na/K Ratio Using Low-Na/K Seasonings and Dairy to Prevent Hypertension

• Published in: Nutrients 2024-05, Vol.16 (10), p.1433
• Main Authors: Okuda, Nagako, Higashiyama, Aya, Tanno, Kozo, Yonekura, Yuki, Miura, Makoto, Kuno, Hiroshi, Nakajima, Toru, Nagahata, Tomomi, Taniguchi, Hirokazu, Kosami, Koki, Kojima, Kyoko, Okayama, Akira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Blood pressure; Cafeterias; Cohort analysis; company cafeteria; Cooking; Dairy Products; Diet therapy; Diet, Sodium-Restricted; East Asian People; Female; Food; Food Services; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - prevention & control; Japan; Japanese; Meals; Middle age; Milk; Milk - chemistry; nutrition; potassium; Potassium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Potassium, Dietary - analysis; Restaurants; Salt; sodium; Sodium Chloride, Dietary - administration & dosage; Sodium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Sodium, Dietary - analysis; Vegetables
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16101433

The excessive intake of sodium (Na) and insufficient intake of potassium (K) are major concerns in the prevention of hypertension. Using low-Na/K seasonings (reducing 25% of the NaCl and adding K salt) may improve the dietary Na/K ratio and help prevent hypertension. To devise an intervention study using low-Na/K seasonings at a company cafeteria, we calculated the Na and K contents of the meals served at the cafeteria and estimated changes in the intakes when suitable low-Na/K seasonings were used. We also considered using milk as a good source of K. We used an ingredient list of a company cafeteria and calculated Na and K contents in each dish. The average amounts of NaCl and K per use were 5.04 g and 718 mg, respectively. Seasonings contributed 70.9% of the NaCl. With the use of low-Na/K seasonings, an estimated reduction in NaCl of 0.8 g/day and an estimated increase in K of 308 mg/day was achieved. With an additional serving (200 mL) of milk, NaCl was reduced by 0.57 g/day and K was increased by 610 mg/day, with an overall decrease in the dietary Na/K ratio from 3.20 to 2.40. The use of low-Na/K seasonings and dairy may improve the dietary Na/K ratio among cafeteria users and help prevent hypertension.