European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Modest diet change can Block Rise in blood pressure by Daniel 0, Haney associated press ining Halls at two prep schools served students Law sail food for a year to show that modest changes in diet can Slop the seemingly inevitable Rise in blood pressure that occurs As youngsters grow older. Ordinarily blood pressure goes up gradually during adolescence. But when the boarding school student received Only Low Salt food in dining Halls heir blood pressures actually fell a bit. Researchers worked to make the fare acceptable to teen agers by coming up with such things As Low Salt hoi dogs. Although there were a few culinary disasters i officials said the students generally grew to like the food. We did t serve unsalted Bluff that tasted blah said the study s director or. R. Curtis Ellison of the University of Massachusetts medical school. The findings were presented recently at an american heart association meeting during a session chaired by or. Larry s. Webber of Louisiana stale University. The study looked at a single  Webber said. Will an institutional change in the sodium Content of the diet affect the blood pressure Levels of adolescents they found that it  the study was conducted at Phillips Academy in Andover and Phillips Exeler Academy in Exeter . The private High schools Are usually called Andover and Exeter. During the first year of the study Exeter s dining Halls served Low Salt food to everyone while meals at Andover contained the usual amounts of Salt. The next year the diets at the two schools were reversed. At cd shool 200 students had their blood pressures checked weekly and kept diaries of everything they ate. The youngsters had All their meals in the school dining Halls and food there contained about one third less sail during the Low sail years. The students could add Salt i they wanted however and outside the cafeterias they could snack on potato chips Popcorn fast food hamburgers or anything else they craved taking All of that into consideration we decreased the total sodium intake during the intervention years by about 20 percent Ellison said. Boys Salt consumption fell from 10 to 8 Grams a Day while girls dropped from 7 to 5.5. The youngsters tested were healthy and had Normal blood pressures. Their systolic pressures the first of the two numbers of blood pressure measurements averaged Aboul 110. During the year of Normal eating the us ideals blood pressures Rose half a Point. However during the Low sail year their pressures dropped an average of two Points. A you can Block the Rise with age that s As you need to do because their blood pressure is Normal said Ellison. We Are nol trying to lower ii As much As keep it the same. And we think that this approach in maintained Over time would keep them from increasing their blood pressures As they got  an estimated 58 million americana Are considered to have High blood pressure. The condition is a major underlying cause of heart attacks and strokes. Aggie Giglio the school nutritionist at Andover said students there could Tell that their food had changed. They Learned to like a she said. They definitely noticed a difference 1 never heard any kid say hate this they adapted to it  the researchers helped the schools make the food interesting by using Lemon Pepper and other spices instead of Salt. They also Learned an important lesson Don t overdo it when banishing the Salt Shaker. We found that foods that were extremely reduced in sodium did not go Over said Ann capper the study s dietician. In the past on the Market your Choice was Eil Fier the regular food or the reduced sodium version which was no Salt. Now there Are things on the Market thai Are one third to one Hall sodium reduced and they Ere Well  with no sail Chicken turned out to be strangely Sweet lasting. But perhaps the worst disaster was Sall ire Ketchup. Students complained loudly and even editorialized in the school newspaper. Gut the Cooks soon found they could keep the youngsters Happy by mixing one third regular Ketchup with Ira unsalted kind. Medication instructions can be crucial by Randolph e. Schmid associated press or most americans swallowing a couple of aspirin to Bailie aches and pains is a simple thing. But government experts say when ii comas to prescription drugs Don t be so casual following directions can be crucial. The Many modern medications available vary widely in the illnesses they can help ease and also in the manner and timing in which they must be used. Failure to pay attention to the instructions can prevent the Medicine irom doing its Job warns the Federal food and drug administration. The pad has estimated that As Many As Hall of americana Lail to take medicines properly. That s a situation the Agency would like la see changed. The truth is that directions or taking medications Are import Ian. They re specially crafted for each drug to help ensure that it does its Job  the Agency reports in the May edition of its Magazine Fra consumer. Basic instructions for taking any prescription drug Strukl be on the Label the Fra Sayn and if Here is any question Consumers should Aak their physician or pharmacist. Most medications Are prescribed for a specified time usually several Days and the drugs often have to be taken a regular intervals to make sure that the right amount is always in the bloodstream. If there is too much o twin drug in the body at any Lime there May be an Adverse reaction. Bui if there in t enough it can t do the Job so the Sehe Duto is designed for each individual need. In some cases patients May even need to gel up in the night to take Medicine of a proposed schedule presents a hardship talk to the doctor to see if it can be modified. In other cases a medication is taken Only once a Day. The time May vary according to what it is designed Lor. Drugs that increase urination or those that May make a patient nervous May be beat taken in the morning so they do not to interfere with sleep Lor example the Fra says. Although again Consul with the doctor about Liming in individual cases. Another problem he Fra has found is thai patients using inhalers Lor drugs such As asthma victims often do not use the inhaler properly. In most cases inhalers should be activated while inhaling slowly the Agency says. Close attention to instructions is needed for using nasal sprays or drops also. What happens if you miss a dose that depends on the drug the Fra reports. In some cases ii is Best to Jirel wait until he next scheduled dose while in others 11 Best to take the drug As soon As you remember it. When getting a new medication. Ask the doctor or pharmacist about this. Often drug Label suggest taking a pm an hour before or two hours after meals. That s because food can interfere with the body absorbing he Medicine. In other cases pills should be taken with meals to improve absorption or to protect the stomach from irritation. H a drug upsets the stomach sometimes it can be taken with food or liquids. But Don t mix drugs with antacids without checking with the doctor. Many antacids can interfere with prescription drugs. Folks who have trouble taking pills should sip a Little water first to lubricate the Mouth and Throat and stand or sit erect when swallowing. Take the Pill with a Large Glass of water in most cases. This helps in swallowing and can help prevent stomach irritation too. The Fra says that once the Medicine is in the Mouth Don t hesitate some coated pills get Sticky when in Contact with saliva and thus would get harder to Swallow. If you think a Pill is stuck in your Throat the Mayo clinic health letter recommends eating some banana which i lubricate the Throat and help move ii along. Tuesday May 26,1987 the stars and stripes paga17