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Sodium consumption increases GI bloating
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Although patients on a high-fiber diet experience increased bloating, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that if they lowered their sodium intake, their bloating decreased.
“Bloating is one of the most common GI complaints in the U.S., and it is a hallmark symptom of IBS,” Noel T. Mueller, PhD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and The Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. “Dietary fiber and sodium have been hypothesized to increase bloating, but no rigorous randomized controlled trials have investigated these factors.”
Researchers analyzed data from the DASH-Sodium trial in which 412 healthy adults went on a high-fiber Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or a low-fiber western diet. While on their assigned diet, individuals ate three different sodium levels (50, 100 and 150 mmol/day at 2,100 kcal) in 30-day periods in a random order with 5-day breaks between each stage. The individuals reported the presence of bloating at baseline and after each sodium intake period.
Mueller and colleagues found that the DASH diet increased risk of bloating over all sodium levels (RR = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.22–1.64). Its impact on bloating was greater in men than in women.
However, researchers found that regardless of diet, high sodium intake increased the risk for bloating (RR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.06–1.52). When individuals reduced their sodium intake, Mueller said they experienced decreased bloating symptoms in a dose-dependent manner.
“Sodium reduction represents an important dietary intervention to reduce bloating symptoms and could be used to enhance compliance with healthful high-fiber diets, such as the DASH diet,” Mueller said in an interview. “The mechanisms by which sodium intake and diet can influence bloating and related GI symptoms represent important areas for future research.” – by Alex Young
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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