Day 021 - 29 Jul 94 - Page 22

     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Might I make this suggestion?  You have, for
              instance, got Professor Keen coming who, from looking at
     2        his report, is not only an expert on diabetes but has very
              considerable specialist knowledge in relation to heart
     3        disease.  If you care to ask him whether he has any light
              to shed on it and serve any further information you have,
     4        that may help.
 
     5   MR. RAMPTON:  We will certainly ask him.
 
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It seems to me, Mr. Morris and Ms. Steel,
              that whatever the answer may be, this witness is not going
     7        to be able to help any further.
 
     8   MS. STEEL:  Yes.
              A.  The only thing I would point to is that in 25.3.2 they
     9        do make some comment on this.  If you look in the middle
              of 25.3.2: "It has been calculated that a reduction of
    10        daily sodium intake from 3.9 to 1.6 might reduce systolic
              blood pressure by 2.2 mm of sodium and diastolic pressure
         by 0.1, but recent evidence suggests this may be a
              considerable underestimate.  The Panel accepted the
    12        possibility that public health benefits such as reduced
              cardiovascular disease mortality might arise from such a
    13        change, but other interventions such as reduction of
              obesity, increased potassium, reduced energy intakes,
    14        altered quantity and quality of fat intake and reduced
              alcohol consumption may also have at least as great an
    15        impact on such diseases".  So I can only conclude that
              they have considered this and decided at that time that
    16        the evidence for reducing it was not strong enough for
              them to make a recommendation.
    17
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I can see, at the very last word on 153:
    18         "The Panel cautioned against any trend towards increased
              sodium intakes.  The Panel further agreed that current
    19        sodium intakes were needlessly high, and decided to set
              DRVs on the basis of the balance of risks and benefits
    20        which might practically be expected to occur, given the
              prevailing socio-cultural environment", which seems to me
         is painting with a pretty broad brush, is that right?
              A.  I would say so, yes.
    22
         MR. MORRIS:  What were the DRVs?  I cannot find them in this
    23        chart.
 
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  You find them in the table below.  It is not very
              helpful.
    25
         MR. MORRIS:  That is right. 
    26 
         MR. RAMPTON:  It is not very helpful because in table 25.1 they 
    27        are called DRVs; when you look at them they are in fact
              just split up into LRNI and RNI, so it does not actually
    28        advance you at all.
 
    29   MR. MORRIS:  Just finally on this, Mr. Wheelock, when you made
              your tables, were you assuming that 16 hundred was the
    30        limit to aim for for sodium?
              A.  Which table?