Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the adherence to a salt restriction diet and the effect of salt restriction on blood pressure in free living subjects with mildly elevated blood pressure. Design: Subjects with mildly elevated blood pressure participated in a controlled study on the effect of salt restriction on blood pressure. Subjects received oral and written instructions by a clinical nutritionist to reduce sodium chloride intake to ®ve grams per day. A low sodium bread (0.5%) was supplied free of charge for the subjects during the whole low-sodium period (between weeks 4 ± 24). Subjects and methods: Subjects were recruited from previous studies at the Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine and from local occupational health care services. Twenty-four men and 15 women aged 28 ± 65 y with the mean daytime ambulatory diastolic blood pressure between 90 ± 105 mmHg and of®ce diastolic blood pressure between 95 ± 115 mmHg were included in the study. Salt intake was monitored by 4-d food diaries and 24-h urinary sodium excretion. Results: Twenty percent of the subjects achieved a urinary sodium excretion level of less than 74 mmola24 h corresponding to a salt intake of ®ve grams per day. There was a signi®cant decline (7.1 AE 12.7a4.2 AE 7.5) in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels during the salt restriction diet. Conclusions: Even moderate salt restriction seems to be effective in the treatment of mildly elevated blood pressure. However, the recommended salt intake level of less than ®ve grams per day is dif®cult to achieve even after intensive counselling and regular use of low salt bread.