Reduction in cardiovascular risk by sodium-bicarbonated mineral water in moderately hypercholesterolemic young adults.

Effects of drinking a sodium bicarbonated mineral water on cardiovascular risk in young men and women with moderate cardiovascular risk were studied. Eighteen young volunteers, total cholesterol levels >5.2 mmol/L without any disease participated. The study consisted in two 8-week intervention periods. Subjects consumed, as a supplement of their usual diet, 1 L/d of a control low mineral water followed by 1 L/d of the bicarbonated mineral water (mmol/L: sodium, 48; bicarbonate, 35; and chloride, 17). Determinations were performed at the end of the control water period and weeks 4 and 8 of the bicarbonated water period. Body weight, BMI, blood pressure, dietary intake, total-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, Apo A-I, Apo B, triacylgycerols, glucose, insulin, adiponectin, high sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP), soluble adhesion molecules (sICAM and sVCAM), sodium and chloride urinary excretion, and urine pH were measured. Dietary intake, body weight and BMI showed no significant variations. Systolic blood pressure decreased significantly after 4 weeks of bicarbonated water consumption without significant differences between the weeks 4 and 8. Significant reductions were observed after bicarbonated water consumption of total cholesterol (by 6.3%, p=0.012), LDL-cholesterol (by 10% p=0.001), total/HDL-cholesterol (p=0.004), LDL/HDL-cholesterol (p=0.001), and Apo B (p=0.017). Serum triacylglycerols, Apo A-I, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and hs-CRP levels did not change. Serum glucose values tended to decrease during the bicarbonated water intervention (p=0.056) but insulin levels did not vary. This sodium bicarbonated mineral water improves lipid profile in moderately hypercholesterolemic young men and women and could therefore be applied in dietary interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk