백승하1, 안주원1, 이혜리2, 조수현1, 김정하1

1중앙대학교 의과대학 중앙대학교병원 가정의학과, 2연세대학교 의과대학 강남세브란스병원 가정의학과

Background: High sodium and/or low mineral intake are known to be associated with elevated blood pressure.
It has been reported that substituting low-sodium, mineral-rich salt for refined salt lowers blood pressure (BP).
And solar salt is emerging as a low sodium high mineral salt for a healthy diet in Korea. Therefore, this double-
blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial was conducted to explore changes in BP from substituting
refined salt with solar salt among hypertensive elderly subjects.
Methods: Forty-three hypertensive and institutionalized elderly individuals aged 65 years or older were
enrolled. Thirty-eight subjects (88.4%) completed the study. Subjects were provided with either a solar salt- or
refined salt-based diet for eight weeks.
Results: Systolic BP decreased significantly in the solar salt-based diet group after 2, 4, and 8 weeks when
compared to the refined salt-based diet group. And, diastolic BP was lowered significantly in the solar salt-based
diet group compared to that in the refined salt-based diet group after 8 weeks. In addition, urinary sodium/potassium,
and angiotension converting enzyme activity decreased significantly in the solar salt-based diet group
compared to the refined salt-based group. Urinary potassium excretion was significantly increased in the solar
salt-based diet group.
Conclusions: These results may provide clinical evidence that solar salt has beneficial effects on BP in elderly
patients. And, people such as Koreans, who do not consume enough minerals, may experience a greater anti-
hypotensive effect by using solar salt. However, further large-scale studies are necessary.
Korean J Health Promot 2015;15(3):98-107
Keywords: Hypertension, Blood pressure, Aged, Salt, Randomized controlled trial