Advancements in production, assessment, and food applications of salty and saltiness-enhancing peptides: A review.

Salt is important for food flavor, but excessive sodium intake leads to adverse health consequences. Thus, salty and saltiness-enhancing peptides are developed for sodium-reduction products. This review elucidates saltiness perception process and analyses correlation between the peptide structure and saltiness-enhancing ability. These peptides interact with taste receptors to produce saltiness perception, including ENaC, TRPV1, and TMC4. This review also outlines preparation, isolation, purification, characterization, screening, and assessment techniques of these peptides and discusses their potential applications. These peptides are from various sources and produced through enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, or Millard reaction and then separated, purified, identified, and screened. Sensory evaluation, electronic tongue, bioelectronic tongue, and cell and animal models are the primary saltiness assessment approaches. These peptides can be used in sodium-reduction food products to produce "clean label" items, and the peptides with biological activity can also serve as functional ingredients, making them very promising for food industry.

Impact of the 2003 to 2018 Population Salt Intake Reduction Program in England: A Modeling Study.

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An empirical test of the materialist framework for understanding the general population's reaction to nonpersonalized genetic health messages.

Genetic health messages are increasingly prevalent in our society. The materialist framework of laypeople's genetic knowledge may provide a good basis for understanding the effects of such messages on preventive behavior and related health cognitions. This study provides an empirical test of the predictions of this framework. We presented 929 participants who were aware or unaware of the existence of genetic risk factors for salt sensitivity with either a genetic health message or a general health message about salt sensitivity. Baseline, immediate follow-up, 1-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up questionnaires assessed risk perception, intention, and salt consumption. Compared with the general health message, previously unaware participants reported lower susceptibility to, and lower severity of, salt sensitivity and lower intentions to restrict salt intake immediately after reading the genetic health message, but not at the 1- and 6-month follow-ups. No such effects were observed for previously aware participants. In addition, the authors observed no effect of health message type on self-reported salt consumption. The authors' findings support the validity of the materialist framework for understanding laypeople's knowledge of genetics. On the basis of the results, several implications were deduced for public education of genetics.

Lay responses to health messages about the genetic risk factors for salt sensitivity: do mass media genetic health messages result in genetic determinism?

Media coverage of genetics may lead to overestimation of the impact of genetics on disease development. In this study, we presented one student sample and one general public sample from the Netherlands with a general or a genetic health message (HM) about salt sensitivity. After reading the genetic (but not the general) HM, participants reported higher perceived impact of genetic versus lifestyle factors and a higher attributable fraction of genetics on disease development. Nevertheless, participants were able to recognise the balance between lifestyle and genetic risk factors in disease development. They also contextualised and restricted the message's implications to the specific information provided, and did not extrapolate these implications to other diseases. These results illustrate the nuanced understanding the general public may have concerning genetic risk factors.

Avaliação do consumo de sal em uma unidade de alimentação e nutrição / Salt intake evaluation in a food service

Hypertension is currently considered one of the most common public health problems and it is associated to cardiovascular risks. Due to the great number of people who lunch at work, the increasing number of hypertension cases and the lack of reports about salt intake, the present study intended to evaluatesalt consumption in a Food and Nutrition Centre. The study was developed in the restaurant located in a pharmaceutical industry in Suzano ­ SP. The salt contents of foods, leftovers and sachets distributed to the workers were assessed. The average salt intake was calculated as the ratio of the amount of salt offered and the number of employees having lunch at the company's restaurant each day. The average daily salt consumption was (5.37±0.38) gper person. The study found a high prevalence of inactivity and 47.6% of overweight or obese workers. In addition, 53.9% of the normotense workers were eutrophic and 44.9% showed some degree of overweight. Among the hypertense workers, 16.4% were eutrophic and 83.6% showed some degree of overweight. In the population studied, high salt intake, overweight and physical inactivity can increase the incidence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases

La hipertensión es uno de los problemas de salud pública más comunes en el mundo y está asociada a serios riesgos de morbimortalidad cardiovascular. Considerando el elevado número de trabajadores que almuerzan en el local de trabajo, el aumento de la incidencia de hipertensión y la escasez de estudios sobre sal,nos propusimos en este trabajo a estimar el consumo de sal de adición en una Unidad de Alimentación y Nutrición. El estudio fue realizado en el restaurante de una indústria farmacéutica del municipio de Suzano- SP. Fue estimada la sal utilizada en las preparaciones, la que era distribuida y la sal de las sobras y de los restos de comida. El consumo medio de sal por persona fue calculado dividiendo la sal ofrecida por el número de personas que participaban del almuerzo cada día. Los resultados mostraron un consumo medio de salde 5,37 (± 0,38) gramas, por persona, por almuerzo. Fue detectada también una grande inactividad física y que 47,6% de los trabajadores presentaban sobrepeso u obesidad. Entre los trabajadores con tensión normal,53,9% estaban con el peso adecuado para la altura y 44,9% mostraban algún grado de sobrepeso. Entre los funcionarios hipertensos apenas 16,4% eran eutróficos y 83,6% presentaban algún grado de sobrepeso. En la población estudiada, el elevado consumo de sal, el exceso de peso y la inactividad física pueden estar contribuyendo para la incidência de hipertensión observada y consecuentemente para el aparecimiento de enfermidades cardiovasculares

A hipertensão é, atualmente, um dos mais comuns problemas de saúde pública mundial e está associada a sérios riscos de morbimortalidade cardiovascular. Frente ao grande número de trabalhadores que fazem sua principal refeição na empresa onde trabalham, ao aumento dos casos de hipertensão e à escassez de artigos que tratam do consumo de sal, este estudo tem o objetivo de avaliar o consumo de sal de adição em uma Unidade de Alimentação e Nutrição. O estudo foi desenvolvido em um restaurante industrial de uma empresa farmacêutica do Município de Suzano ­ SP. Foram avaliados o sal utilizado nas preparações, o sal das sobras e dos restos e o sal distribuído. O consumo médio de sal por pessoa foi calculado pela razão entre o sal oferecido e o número de funcionários que almoçaram a cada dia. O consumo médio de sal por pessoa no almoço foi de 5,37 (± 0,38) gramas. Foi encontrada uma alta prevalência de inatividade e 47,6% dos funcionários apresentaram sobrepeso ou obesidade. Observou-se também que 53,9% dos funcionários normotensos apresentavam peso adequado para a altura e 44,9% apresentavam algum grau de sobrepeso. Dentre os funcionários hipertensos, verificou-se que apenas 16,4% eram eutróficos e 83,6% apresentavam algum grau de sobrepeso. Na população estudada, o elevado consumo de sal, o excesso de peso e a inatividade física podem contribuir para a incidência da hipertensão e, conseqüentemente, de doenças cardiovasculares

Evaluation of a rapid protocol for the assessment of salt sensitivity against the blood pressure response to dietary sodium chloride restriction.

The "gold standard" for the assessment of salt sensitivity of hypertension is the blood pressure response to dietary NaCl restriction; nevertheless, for practical purposes, a more rapid test that would not depend on the patient's compliance to the dietary prescription would be very useful in clinical research and medical practice. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of a rapid, easy-to-standardize protocol for the assessment of salt sensitivity against the blood pressure response to dietary salt restriction. A total of 108 hypertensive patients were screened for salt sensitivity by the modified protocol of Grim et al. Thereafter, nine patients identified by the test as salt sensitive and nine identified as salt resistant followed, for two consecutive periods of 1 week, a diet with normal (200 mmol/day) or low (50 mmol/day) NaCl content. Compliance to the diet was checked by repeated 24-h urine collections. The group as a whole experienced a significant fall in blood pressure during the low Na diet (mean pressure = 123 +/- 3 v 118 +/- 3 mm Hg; P < .05). However, whereas patients identified as salt sensitive by the Grim protocol had a marked and significant blood pressure decrease (systolic -12 mm Hg, diastolic -7 mm Hg), no change was observed in those classified as salt resistant (systolic -2 mm Hg, diastolic -2 mm Hg). A significant correlation between changes in urinary Na excretion and changes in blood pressure was found only in salt-sensitive hypertensive patients. In conclusion, the modified Grim protocol tested in this study was able to correctly predict a significant blood pressure response to dietary salt restriction in the majority of cases. A validation of this test in a larger patient population may be advisable.

Accurate assessment of the quantitative significance of different sources of salt in the diet.

A metabolic study was conducted to assess the validity of using lithium tagged salt as a technique for monitoring the sources of salt in the diet. Discretionary sources, table and cooking salt, were separately labelled and studied, the table salt being available ad libitum whereas cooking salt intakes were controlled. The study showed that lithium excretion in the urine did provide an accurate measure of the amount of the labelled salt ingested. Subsequent analysis suggest that Li is not excreted readily in sweat or faeces so it can be used on its own to ensure the completeness of a series of 24h urines. Latin American studies on salt sources in the diet are needed as a base for programmes of primary prevention of hypertension.