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The right amount of salt for children

The question is simple. How much salt should children eat? (Erika)

Cook Sat, 12/12/2020 - 22:35

Salt has been known to men since pre-historic times. Not only as one of the first seasonings and food preservatives, but as an essential element for health as well. Salt helps with muscle and nerve function. Our bodies need salt to control the balance of fluids. Common salt is sodium chloride.

We are usually able to regulate the amount of sodium. We become thirsty when we have too much salt, then we drink and the salt is eliminated together with the excess fluids. Some people, however, are not able to excrete sodium so efficiently. Who are these people? As you probably wondered, they are the very young, the very old, and those with kidney problems.

Recommended amounts of salt for children

  • Babies should not have any salt at all as their kidneys are not fully developed.
  • Kids 1-3 years old should not have more than 2 g per day.
  • Kids 4-6 years old should have no more than 3 g per day.
  • Kids 7-10 years old should not have more than 5 g per day.
  • Kids 11 years old and over should stick to the maximum of 6 g per day. This is also the guideline for healthy adults.

To give you an idea, 6 g salt are the approximate equivalent to 1 good teaspoon and 3 g salt are about 1/2 teaspoon.

Many food labels only indicate the amount of sodium in milligrams, not the amount of salt. As salt is sodium chloride, it follows that foods low in sodium are low in salt. Foods low in sodium should have less than 140 mg sodium per serving.

Black population have more tendency to develop high blood pressure and salt sensitivity as adults. The recommendation is to be careful about salt intake and make sure they get the recommended amount of potassium as it may offset the effects of salt.

The actual recommendation for sodium is less than 2,300 mg per day for adults and less than 1,500 mg per day for people with hypertension, older adults. Consider children within this special consideration group.

Salt and your children’s diet

We don’t lack salt in the modern diet. The problem is we have it in excess – the average adult has usually 2,5 g over the recommended 6 g daily intake. If adults are taking too much and the children share in the family meals, they may be getting way over the limit. A high salt intake over long periods has been linked to numerous health problems ranging from heart disease and kidney stones to osteoporosis and cancer.

The taste for salt is acquired, so you are doing your kids good by not encouraging them to have too much salt. In the case you need to reduce salt in your diet, your taste buds will take about a month to adapt to the new less savory flavors.

There are a few instances when salt is lost in excess and the body needs replenish sodium levels. Excessive sweating during intense exercise would be an example; de-hydration through illness would be another.

Most salt in our diets does not come from the salt we add when cooking but from prepared foods such as deli meats, prepared soups and sauces, stock cubes, and canned or frozen foods. Some meals in restaurants and food to go is also high in salt.