Day 266 - 20 Jun 96 - Page 32


     
     1
     2   Q.   No.  Do you know?
     3        A.   In terms of basic chemistry that is true.
     4
     5   Q.   You were a biochemist at university?
     6        A.   Yes.
     7
     8   Q.   So 23 grammes of sodium in one minimol.  Or one minimol of
     9        sodium represents 23 milligrams.  Am I right?
    10        A.   Yes.
    11
    12   Q.   For every gramme of sodium chloride there are roughly 393
    13        milligrams of sodium?
    14        A.   Yes, because if you look at the sodium in the chloride
    15        it is looking at the molecular weights and working out the
    16        proportions there.
    17
    18   Q.   So, for every thousand milligrammes of sodium chloride on
    19        the table, if you like, the sodium content -- and sodium is
    20        the one that people are concerned about -- of that is 393
    21        milligrames.  Is that right?
    22        A.   I think, I need to know the specific question you are
    23        asking because it seems, you know -- if you want to put
    24        some figures in front of me I will happily look at them,
    25        but when you are talking about the one and the other--
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not worry about that.  Just say whether
    28        you agree or not with what Mr. Rampton is saying.
    29
    30   MR. RAMPTON:  I am not a scientist.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just go through the figures again?
    33        A.  If it is in that report, then it will be right because
    34        that is the Government report on diet reference values.
    35
    36   MR. RAMPTON:  It is on sodium, my Lord, in COMA 41.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    39
    40   MR. RAMPTON:  So, if you want to translate 100 millimols of
    41        sodium into grammes of table salt, sodium chloride, you
    42        come out with 5.8 grammes of sodium -- of salt, sorry --
    43        what is the average consumption of salt, table salt, sodium
    44        chloride, in an adult man in the United Kingdom today; do
    45        you know?
    46        A.   I think it is around ten grammes, something like that.
    47
    48   Q.   It is between 2 and 10.  Am I right, it is about 8
    49        and-a-half, average?
    50        A.  There is a big variation.  I would put it around ten
    51        but then I have not come prepared here to talk about salt I
    52        am simply-- 
    53
    54   Q.   I understand that, and nor, as a matter of fact, did I,
    55        which is very surprising.  What would be the effect, in
    56        general, on the health of the population if the salt intake
    57         -- I am not talking about sodium, I am talking about salt
    58        intake, sodium chloride intake -- were as low as 2.7
    59        grammes per day?
    60        A.  That is towards the lower end of the 2 to 8 grammes

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