Dietary Electrolytes and their Influences on Plasma Aldosterone Concentration

Abstract

Excessive sodium retention is thought to be the main culprit for hypertension. The modern American diet provides an excess of sodium and not sufficient amount of sodium. In this research, we examined the relations among urinary sodium and potassium excretion, and plasma levels of aldosterone, a mineralocorticoid hormone that has been linked to incidence hypertension, in a cohort of healthy children and young adults. We found that higher plasma aldosterone level was associated with lower sodium excretion in the urine, in blacks and whites, suggesting that aldosterone plays a critical role in retaining the sodium from dietary sources. The study highlights the importance of dietary sodium restriction.