Abnormally high aldosterone levels are associated to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. A sodium-rich mineral water was previously shown to reduce several markers of cardiovascular risk and did not increase blood pressure in healthy adults. We aimed to study the effects of consuming the same mineral water compared to a control water on aldosterone levels, and if the effects vary due to the presence of meal in healthy adults. The design was a four-way randomized controlled crossover 120-min-postprandial trial. Twenty-one healthy men and women participated in the study. Exclusion criteria are diabetes, hypertension, and being a usual consumer of carbonic mineral water. Two different mineral waters, high-sodium and bicarbonate mineral water (BW, sodium, 1 g/L; bicarbonate, 2 g/L) and low-mineral content control water (CW), were consumed with or without a standard meal (500 mL per meal). Statistical analysis was performed by repeated measures ANOVA. The results are as follows: serum sodium did not vary, and serum potassium decreased throughout the assay (p = 0.01) without water influence. Consumption of BW significantly decreased aldosterone levels at 30 (p = 0.046), 60 (p = 0.009), and 120 (p = 0.025) min when consumed alone, and at 120 min (p = 0.019) when consumed with meal, compared to CW. Moreover, the effect of BW on aldosterone levels was significant in women but not in men. In conclusion, consumption of a sodium-bicarbonated mineral water, in presence or absence of meal, induces aldosterone inhibition in healthy women, which is suggested to be a physiological response that protects them against hypertension. This trial is registered at clinicaltrial.gov as NCT01334840.
Keywords: Aldosterone; Cardiovascular risk; Human; Mineral water; Randomized controlled trial; Sodium.