Although this method is considered the gold standard for estimating sodium intake, that lone urine test may not provide an accurate snapshot of the participants' everyday intake over the full eight-year study, as the researchers themselves note.

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Further, there still remains a substantial reservoir of suspicion as to how hermetically sealed the so-called anonymous intake is and how it will stand up to the test of time.

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"The results of the research encourage me to believe that the use of an SAT-type test could complement achievement tests such as A-levels and could broaden intake to British universities without lowering standards, " he said.

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