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In Morocco, the high consumption of dietary sodium increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and predisposes to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and hypertension. This study aims to assess the dietary sodium and potassium intake in a random sample of Moroccan adult students as a benchmark informing a national strategy for reducing salt intake. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 103 adults aged 18 to 25 years recruited in Casablanca. The 24-hour urinary excretion was used to measure the sodium and potassium. Creatinine excretion was used to validate the completeness of the urine collections. The average urinary sodium excretion was 3125.77 ± 121.99 mg/day, 13.5% consumed less than 5g/day, while 69% consumed more than 5 g/day of which 17.5% consumed more than twice the recommendations. For the average urinary potassium excretion was 1826.1 ± 61.2 mg/day, and more than 98% of the students consumed less than the adequate intake. The results of this pilot study show that the population studied has a high sodium intake and low potassium intake which does not meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, which requires implementing an action plan to reduce salt.

Introduction Iodine deficiency is still a matter of public health concern despite salt fortification and especially with global recommendations to lower salt intake, this is mainly due to dietary habits. University students have a diet based on street food high in sodium and low in other micronutrients (i.e. iodine and potassium). In this study, we aim to measure sodium and iodine levels in university students to assess their risk of developing complications later in life. Methodology A sample of 120 students aged between 18 and 25 years old was recruited and asked to collect their 24-hours urine samples in special containers containing. Samples were stored then analyzed for sodium, potassium, iodine and creatinine levels. Results The average urinary excretion of sodium was 3066.8 ± 1196.0 mg/day. Overall, 72.6% of participants consume more than 2 g/day of sodium. Average potassium intake is 1805.9 ± 559.4 mg/day, and all participants consume less than the adequate amount. Daily urinary excretion of iodine is 135.6 ± 88.9 mg/day, and 69.2% of participants consume less than the recommended amount. Sodium, potassium and iodine intakes were higher in male participants (P-values = 0.008; 0.044 and 0.003, respectively). The lowest average iodine intake was observed in underweight participants (119.4 ± 31.4) with 87.5% of underweight participants and 80% of female participants below the recommended intake. Conclusion Sodium intake is high while iodine intake is low in this studied population, especially in women.

Background Hypertension is a serious public health problem in Morocco. The objective of this pilot study was to estimate the daily salt intake of Moroccan adults by measuring 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. Methods In this study, 132 participants were recruited from the central region of Morocco. The individual information of the participants was collected using a standard questionnaire of World Health Organization (WHO). Verbal instructions were given to the participants for the 24-hour urine collection. All participants were given 5 liters plastic containers (with 1 g of boric acid for conservation purposes) to collect 24-hour urine excretion. Sodium, potassium and creatinine levels were measured using 24-hour urine samples. Results From the 132 participants that participated to the study, only 119 participants were included in the analysis. The average of the urine volume was 1128.1 ± 550.9 milliliters, with a range of (500-3300 mL). The daily excretion of sodium and creatinine was 2838.7 ± 1442.5 and 850.4 ± 398.4 mg, respectively. Data analysis revealed that 71.2% of the participants had a daily sodium intake that exceeded the 2000 mg (5 g of salt) recommended by the World Health Organization. The average potassium excretion was 1377.3 ± 642.4 mg/day, which is lower than WHO's recommendation of 3500 mg per day. Conclusion Participants in this pilot study had a high sodium intake and low potassium intake in Moroccan adults. Public health measures to reduce sodium and increase potassium consumption in order to decrease the population's risk of high blood pressure and heart disease are recommended.

OBJECTIVES: Overconsumption of sodium can cause several noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension which alone is responsible for 10% of cardiovascular disease. According to the Moroccan Ministry of Health 2018, the prevalence of hypertension in Morocco rose from 33.6% in 2000 to 29.3% in 2018. Bread is the main vehicle of salt for daily food intake in Morocco the objective of this research is the evaluation of the impact of 5 years of awareness campaigns (2011–2016) on the incentive of bakers to reduce the amount of salt used in the preparation of commercial white bread and on improvement of their knowledge and nutritional practices related to salt. METHODS: Knowledge, attitudes and nutritional practices (KAB) on sodium were assessed using a questionnaire during interviews in 2012, 2014 and 2016 with 1218 bakeries in Casablanca, Morocco. The questionnaire covered subjects on diseases linked to overconsumption of salt, the recommended daily intake and their adhesions to gradually reducing salt in the preparation of bread. The amount of sodium chloride in commercial bread was measured by the Mohr titration method. Bread samples were collected and analyzed in 160 bakeries in 2011 and 2016. RESULTS: The KAB survey revealed that in 2016, for bakers, 92.9% knew at least that overconsumption of salt causes blood pressure, 72.8% were engaged or started to reduce the sodium added in the preparation of bread and 98.3% of bakers market around 10% of bread without salt. Analysis of the bread revealed that the added sodium chloride increased from 17.42 ± 1.28 g/kg in 2011 to 13.1 ± 2.24 g/kg in 2016, equivalent to a decrease of 26, 3% over five years (0.94 g per year). The amount of salt measured in 2017–2018 in the bread of 6 Moroccan cities showed an average rate varying between 12.85 and 16.9 g/kg. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the effectiveness of awareness campaigns through the CAP to reduce the use of salt in breadmaking. Knowing that the daily consumption of bread in Morocco varied between 360 and 500 g. This 26.3% reduction in salt in bread certainly has a positive impact on CVD protection and would be attributed to the reduction in the prevalence of blood pressure obtained in 2018 among Moroccans. FUNDING SOURCES: University II Hassan Facuty of Sciences Ben M'Sik Casablanca. World Health Organization.

This study aimed to evaluate the amount of salt provided by the consumption of bread in daily food intake and compare it to recommended salt intake. Chloride ion concentrations were measured using Mohr's Method to indirectly quantify added salt in bread samples from 80 professional bakeries in Casablanca, Morocco. Results showed that the average amount of added salt during the preparation of white bread is 17.42 ± 1.28 g / kg, which is the equivalent of a daily intake of 8 to 9 g of salt through bread alone, and exceeds all recommendations. The high salt content of white bread might be a contributing factor to the high sodium intake in Morocco, especially considering that bread is a staple food in the country. Any policies or initiatives to reduce sodium consumption should target bread as a strategic vehicle to reduce salt intake.التركيب الملحي للخبز الأبيض التجاري في المغرب.علي جفري، يونس الكردي، عبد الفتاح درويش.هدفت دراستنا إلى تقييم كمية الملح الناتجة عن استهلاك الخبز، كونه غذاءً رئيسياً، في الاستهلاك الغذائي اليومي ومقارنته بالتوصيات. فقمنا بقياس تركيزات أيون الكلوريد باستخدام طريقة موهر للتحديد غر المباشر لكمية الملح المضاف في عينات خبز من 80 مخبزاً في الدار البيضاء. وأظهرت النتائج أن متوسط كمية الملح المضاف خال عملية إعداد الخبز الأبيض يبلغ 17.42±1.28 جرام/كيلو جرام، وهو ما يعادل استهلاكاً يومياً مقداره 8 إلى 9 جرام من الملح عن طريق الخبز وحده، وهو ما يتجاوز جميع التوصيات. ومن شأن ارتفاع محتوى الملح في الخبز الأبيض أن يسهم في ارتفاع استهلاك الصوديوم في المغرب، لا سيَّما باعتبار أن الخبز يمثل غذاءً رئيسياً في البلد. وينبغي لأي سياسات أو مبادرات ترمي إلى خفض استهلاك الصوديوم أن تستهدف الخبز باعتبارها سواغاً اسراتيجياً لخفض استهلاك الملح.Teneur en chlorure de sodium du pain blanc commercial au Maroc.La présente étude visait à évaluer la quantité de sel qu’apporte la consommation de pain dans l’alimentation quotidienne et à la comparer aux doses recommandées. La concentration d’ions chlorure a été mesurée à l’aide de la méthode de Mohr pour quantifier de façon indirecte le sel ajouté dans les échantillons de pain provenant de 80 boulangeries professionnelles à Casablanca (Maroc). Les résultats ont montré que la quantité moyenne de sel ajouté dans la confection du pain blanc est de 17,42 ± 1,28 g/kg. Ceci représente un apport journalier de 8 à 9 grammes de sel provenant uniquement de la consommation du pain et dépasse toutes les recommandations. La haute teneur en sel du pain blanc pourrait être un facteur qui contribue à la forte consommation de sodium au Maroc, surtout quand nous savons que le pain est un aliment de base dans le pays. Toutes les politiques et initiatives visant à réduire la consommation de sodium devraient cibler le pain comme outil stratégique pour réduire l’apport en sel.

Background: Virgin argan oil is of interest in cardiovascular risk prevention due to its fat composition and antioxidant compounds. Aims: We investigated with Moroccan subjects the effect of regular virgin argan oil consumption on lipid profile and antioxidant status and the in vitro effect of argan oil minor compounds (tocopherols, sterols and polyphenols) on LDL peroxidation. Design: Healthy subjects (20 men, 76 women) were studied. Sixty-two were regular consumers of argan oil and 34 were non-consumers. Methods: Fasting plasma lipids, antioxidant vitamins and LDL oxidation susceptibility were analyzed. In vitro LDL oxidation by phenolic and apolar compounds of virgin argan oil were performed. Results: Diet composition of argan oil consumers has a higher significant content of polyunsaturated fatty acids than that of non-consumers (8.8±1.0 vs. 6.6±0.9 g, P Conclusions: Our findings suggest for the first time that regular consumption of virgin argan oil induces a lowering of LDL cholesterol and has antioxidant properties. This oil offers an additional natural food to reducing cardiovascular risk.

Summary Background and aim Due to its high antioxidant and mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid content virgin argan oil (VAO) could play a beneficial role in cardiovascular prevention. We were therefore interested in determining whether the consumption of VAO could improve plasma paraoxonase (PON1) activities and antioxidant status in healthy men. Methods and results Sixty young men were included in this interventional study. They were given a controlled diet for 2 weeks as baseline and then received 25g/day of butter. The group was randomised to two diet group periods of 3 weeks each. The VAO group received 25ml/day of oil and the extra virgin olive oil (EVO) group received the same quantity of EVO as control group. Plasma PON1 activities, antioxidant vitamins and LDL susceptibility to oxidation were measured. The analysis of the results shows that PON1 activities increase significantly in both groups and that lipoperoxides and conjugated dienes formation decreases significantly in VAO and EVO groups compared to baseline values ( P =0.001 and P =0.014, respectively). Vitamin E concentration increases significantly only in VAO group ( P =0.007). Susceptibility of LDL to lipid peroxidation shows a significant increase in lag phase and a significant decrease in maximum diene production in VAO ( P =0.005) and EVO groups ( P =0.041 and P =0.005, respectively). Conclusions Our findings confirm the beneficial effect of EVO on plasma antioxidant status and show for the first time the same effect for VAO supplementation in man. Thus, VAO offers an additional natural food supplement to reduce cardiovascular risk.