Feasibility of a short term severely restricted sodium diet with counselling support

For the purpose of short term clinical trials previous studies have made use of metabolic kitchens to provide severely restricted sodium diets. We evaluated the feasibility of administering a 5-day severely restricted (22 mmol) sodium diet on an outpatient basis with counselling support, outside a metabolic unit. In 13 highly-motivated volunteers, 24-h urinary sodium excretion fell from 128.5 +/- 11.9 on a normal diet to 19.2 +/- 2.88 mmol per day and plasma sodium dropped from normal diet to 19.2 +/- 2.88 mmol per day and plasma sodium dropped from 140 +/- 0.41 to 137 +/- 0.78 mmol/L, showing that such an approach is effective.