The effect of dietary sodium on urinary calcium and potassium excretion in normotensive men with different calcium intakes

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Abstract
On the basis of their usual calcium intake, 12 healthy normotensive male students were divided into a low and a high calcium group. Both groups were provided with complete diets containing the same calculated quantities, expressed per MJ, of protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. After an initial period of two weeks during which all participants received an additional 100 mmol sodium daily, 6 participants received an additional 22 mmol sodium/day (low sodium), the other 6 participants 178 mmol sodium/day (high sodium). After two weeks the sodium regimes were crossed over for a subsequent two-week period. When the second week of the low sodium period is compared with the second week of the high sodium period, the increase in the calcium/creatinine ratio, expressed on molar basis, was 0.059 for the low and 0.053 for the high calcium group (p < 0.05). The increase in the molar potassium/ creatinine ratio was 0.65 for the low and 0.03 for the high calcium group (p < 0.025). However, after correcting for the calcium intake the effect in the low calcium group was found to be greater (p < 0.05). Sodium supplementation was found to have no effect on blood pressure, but mean systolic (p < 0.10) and diastolic in the high calcium group were lower. This suggests that calcium may well play a role in the regulation of blood pressure.