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22/11/2004

Pregnant Women Need Salt: New Case Revealed

BRUSSELS, Belgium, November 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The case of a pregnant woman whose high blood pressure was lowered by increasing the amount of salt in her diet was revealed by leading hypertension expert M.D. Dr Mohaupt, at a recent conference. Doctors recommended that the woman, who was suffering from pre-eclampsia, consumed 20 g of salt a day. As a result of the salt increase the woman's systolic and diastolic blood pressure dropped by 16 mmHg and 12 mmHg.

Dr Mohaupt outlined his findings at the 14th World Congress of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, held in Vienna from 14th - 17th November. The scientist from Berne University Hospital's Nephrology/Hypertension department, concluded that due to the potential preventive and therapeutic consequences of sodium supplementation and other measures further studies were mandatory.

During pregnancy the extra cellular volume of the woman's body increases by 4-6 litres of liquid. To manage this additional fluid, women need water and salt. In 1993 the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology stated "There is no clinical benefit in restricting sodium intake during pregnancy and there is the potential for harm". The German Society for Nutrition advises that pregnant women should drink daily at least 1,5 litres and not reduce salt intake even when they suffer from oedema.

Media contacts

Robert Speiser, Managing Director, EuSalt, Avenue de l'Yser 4, B-1040 Brussels,
Phone +32-(0)2-737-10-90 , Fax +32-(0)2-737-10-99, info@eusalt.com

Barrie Hedges, Daybreak Communications 0845 644 3845
or mobile 07899 623756 barrie.hedges@daybreakcomm.co.uk

Notes to editors:

EuSalt exists to provide authoritative information to the public and other interested parties about salt and its many uses. A further role of this non-profit organisation is to promote the right use of salt and to work in partnership with other European Institutions.