Objective: The connection between increased dietary salt intake and arterial hypertension has been recognized for a long time, even in children. This study aimed to investigate salt consumption in normotensive and hypertensive children and evaluate their dietary habits. Materials and Methods: A total of fifty participants were included in this cross-sectional study: twenty-five normotensive children and 25 children of both sexes with essential arterial hypertension from 12–17 years old. Subjects’ body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, body composition and arterial blood pressure were measured, and their daily salt intake was calculated from 24-h urine samples. Using the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), the data on the average daily total energy and food intakes were collected and analyzed using a suitable program. Results: Estimated daily salt intake was significantly higher in hypertensive compared to normotensive children, and this is positively associated with blood pressure and body mass index (BMI). Hypertensive children had significantly higher BMIs, which also positively correlated with blood pressure. Consistently, resting metabolic rate (kcal) is higher in hypertensive children compared to normotensive, and this is also associated with blood pressure. Reported energy intake is also enlarged in hypertensive compared to normotensive children and for both groups, levels are significantly higher than the recommended values. Conclusions: Our study results confirm the relationship between daily salt consumption, blood pressure and body weight. Sodium consumption related to blood pressure and body weight among children. Cardiovascular disease prevention should start in early childhood by reducing salt intake and preventing overweight/obesity since these are two of the most important modifiable risk factors for hypertension.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are considered important risk contributors for various diseases. Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been focused on the role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) in human health and disease. We aimed to evaluate the effect of n-3 PUFA-enriched chicken meat consumption (~1500 mg of n-3 PUFAs intake per day) for three weeks on oxidative status and antioxidative capacity in young healthy individuals. This was a randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial, in which thirty-nine young healthy people were randomly allocated to eating 500 g/day of regular chicken meat (Control group) or n-3 PUFA-enriched chicken meat (n-3 PUFAs group) over 3 weeks. Subjects’ biochemical parameters, including serum lipids level, liver enzymes, serum activities of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD)), serum oxidative stress markers (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and ferric-reducing ability (FRAP)), as well as intracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were assessed before and after completing the three-week dietary protocol. N-3-enriched chicken meat consumption significantly reduced high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) serum level and increased the level of the antioxidant defense marker, FRAP. Furthermore, GPx and SOD enzyme activities significantly increased in the n-3 PUFAs group compared to baseline, which was accompanied by significantly decreased ROS production. In healthy young individuals, the 3-week dietary intake of n-3 PUFA-enriched chicken meat significantly increased the serum total antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, indicating that n-3 PUFAs may be protective in resting health condition without inflammatory processes.

Objective: Vascular function serves as an early indicator of cardiovascular (CV) risk. The intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been reported to improve arterial properties and reduce CV risk, but evidence in healthy individuals remains limited. This study investigated the effects of consuming n-3 PUFAs-enriched chicken meat on vascular reactivity at both microvascular and macrovascular levels in healthy young adults. Materials and Methods: In this placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized interventional trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05725486), 39 participants (aged 20–26 years) were assigned to either the Control group (n = 20; approximately 118 mg n-3 PUFAs/day) or the n-3 PUFA group (n = 19; approximately 1500 mg n-3 PUFAs/day) for three weeks. Microvascular reactivity was assessed via post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH), acetylcholine-induced dilation (AChID), local thermal hyperemia (LTH), and sodium nitroprusside-induced (SNPID) responses. Macrovascular reactivity was measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-mediated dilation (NTG-MD). Body composition and blood pressure (BP) were recorded before and after the intervention. Results: Both microvascular (PORH, AChID, and LTH) and macrovascular (FMD) endothelium-dependent vasodilation increased in the n-3 PUFAs group following the dietary protocol compared to the Control group. Conversely, the three-week dietary intervention did not influence endothelium-independent dilation in either the microvasculature (SNPID) or macrovasculature (NTG-MD) within the groups compared to baseline, nor were any differences observed between the groups. No significant changes were noted in BP or body composition after either diet. Conclusions: In healthy young adults, consuming the n-3 PUFAs-enriched chicken meat for three weeks improved endothelium-dependent vasodilation in both micro- and macrocirculation, without affecting endothelium-independent responses. These findings suggest that dietary n-3 PUFA intake may provide vascular benefits even in healthy, disease-free individuals at rest.