The prevalence of kidney disease is rising. "By the end of 1992, an estimated 220,000 Americans suffered from end-stage renal disease, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the prevalence of the condition climbs by more than nine percent each year" (Turner, Faile, Wang, Fu, 1997, p. 16B). It is often difficult to design a diet that slows kidney failure and prevents its complications while maintaining good nutritional status of a patient. The dietary restrictions to be considered during treatment of renal failure are protein, energy, fiber, sodium, fluid, potassium, calcium, vitamins, and minerals. Normal functioning kidneys would filter sodium out of the blood, but the kidneys of a patient in renal failure are not able to filter the blood efficiently. This inability to filter the blood causes a need for decreased dietary sodium intake. Compelling a patient to adhere to a sodium-restricted diet may be challenging. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the effect on taste when substituting low sodium chicken broth in varying amounts for regular chicken broth at two levels in rivel soup.
             The groups of people at risk for renal disease include the elderly, individuals with chronic hypertension and/or diabetes, and those of African American descent. "As a result of aging, the elderly have decreased renal blood flow, decreased glomerular filtration, and altered tubular and endocrine function" (Menzies, 1998, p. 39). By the age of eighty years old, renal functions have decreased thirty percent (Beto, 1995). Besides age, chronic hypertension and diabetes seem to be the leading cause of renal failure. According to nutrition educator, Beto (1995), chronic diabetes sufferers account for fifteen percent of newly diagnosed renal disease patients. She goes on to add, "Blacks have a threefold greater risk of renal failure than whites, particularly if they have hypertensio...