Salt intake reduction using umami substance-incorporated food: a secondary analysis of NHANES 2017-2018 data.

OBJECTIVE
Excessive salt intake raises blood pressure and increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and stomach cancer. Reducing the sodium content of food is an important public health measure to control the NCDs. This study quantifies the amount of salt reduced by using umami substances, i.e., glutamate, inosinate, and guanylate, for adults in the United States (US).


DESIGN
The secondary data analysis was performed using data of the US nationally representative cross-sectional dietary survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018. Per capita daily salt intake corresponding to the NHANES food groups was calculated in the four hypothetical scenarios of 0%, 30%, 60%, and 90% market share of low-sodium foods in the country. The salt reduction rates by using umami substances were estimated based on the previous study results.


SETTING
The United States.


PARTICIPANTS
4,139 individuals aged 20 years and older in the US.


RESULTS
Replacing salt with umami substances could help the US adults reduce salt intake by 7.31-13.53% (7.50-13.61% for women; 7.18-13.53% for men), which is equivalent to 0.61-1.13g/day (0.54-0.98g/day for women; 0.69-1.30g/day for men) without compromising the taste. Approximately, 21.21-26.04% of the US adults could keep their salt intake below 5 g/day, the World Health Organization's recommendation in the scenario where there is no low-sodium product on the market.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides essential information that the use of umami substances as a substitute for salt may help reduce the US adults' salt intake.