John is a 35-year-old advertising executive. He is fairly active, has a BMI of 23, and is in generally good health. However, at his yearly physical his doctor discovers that John has high blood...

• John is a 35-year-old advertising executive. He is fairly active, has a BMI of 23, and is in generally good health. However, at his yearly physical his doctor discovers that John has high blood pressure. John assures his doctor that he eats well, and can't understand why the numbers are so high. John's doctor tells him that he probably is salt sensitive, and needs to cut back on the sodium in his diet. When John returns home he immediately puts the saltshaker in the back of the cupboard, so he is not tempted to add salt to his foods. He also replaces his usual snack of salted peanuts with dry cereal, his favorite being cornflakes. He has heard about packaged foods being high in sodium, so he swears off his usual frozen dinners and takes the time to prepare some of his favorite meals. John eats Mexican rice and beans, or a piece of smoked halibut with mashed potatoes to go with it. Since lunch is usually at the office, John decides he needs to start bringing lunch instead of ordering Chinese food with his coworkers. John goes out to the store and buys a package of bologna and some American cheese to make sandwiches. He enjoys a pudding cup for dessert. He is always very thirsty so he brings both a bottle of water and orange juice to sip on, but rarely milk. After a month on this new diet John returns to his doctor, assured that his blood pressure has gone down. To his surprise, the numbers have not budged. "I don't understand! I don't put salt on anything," John tells his doctor.

• 
  Some contributing factor to John's hypertension include:
  

1. High amounts of salt in a John’s diet can raise their blood pressure and cause his body to hold onto more water.


2. This excess water then puts strain on his blood vessels and puts an increased stress on his kidneys.


3. High blood pressure can contribute to hypertension, thus John should reduce his sodium intake to reduce hypertension


4. 
   All of the above
   


5. 
   A and C only
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

QUESTION 2

• 
  The first step John takes in lowering his sodium intake is hiding the saltshaker. Do you think this was very effective? Why or why not?
  

1. Although hiding the salt shaker may help some, it is also important that he pays attention to the foods consumed. As they might contain high amounts of sodium already.


2. Although hiding the salt shaking will not help; John can continue using the salt shaker.


3. None of the above


4. John should consider using a different type of salt with less sodium

QUESTION 3

• John replaces his snack of salted peanuts with corn flakes. Using a food composition table, look up the sodium content in both and determine if this statement is true or false?
  
  
  
  

• 
  Replacing corn flakes from salted peanuts is not a good idea to reduce his sodium intake. Peanuts contain 70 mg of sodium while cornflakes contain 200 mg of sodium. Peanuts also contain more nutritional value such as protein and healthy fats.
  

1. True


2.  False

QUESTION 4

• John replaces frozen dinners with Mexican rice and beans or smoked halibut, two seemingly healthy choices. Compare their sodium contents to the RDI and determine if this statement is true or false.

• 
  Mexican rice and beans is a poor choice because it contains 487 mg sodium and the RDI is 2300mg. Smoked halibut (3 oz) on the other hand is a very good choice because it contains 666 mg per serving.
  

1. True


2. False

QUESTION 5

• Hypertension is a major public health problem that increases the risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases. An increase in calcium and potassium intake slightly reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in normotensive people, suggesting a role in the prevention of hypertension.

1. True


2. False

QUESTION 6

• The fat in John's diet is the reason why he is so thirsty.

1. True


2. False