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How much salt is safe for your baby?
Nutrition starts from birth and stays with us throughout our lives. Babies and children need a healthy diet in order to develop correctly, and grown into healthy adults. As parents are responsible for their baby’s nutrition, there are several issues you need to pay special attention to. Breast milk is perfectly designed for your baby, therefore when transitioning to supplementary food there are different things to take into consideration. One of these issues in salt intake.
Salt is a vital mineral for the human body. It affects the nerve transmissions in our bodies, the functioning of muscles and the liquid electrolyte balance. So do babies need salt? Babies who are exclusively breastfed do not need extra salt, as breast milk contains all the minerals they need. However when babies start to eat baby food, salt needs to be added
Salt also contains various risks. Excessive amounts of salt can cause kidney issues due to the high sodium content. Breast milk has a very low salt content when compared to other mammals, so babies actually need a very low amount.
Excessive amount of salt in childhood is linked to increased risk of hypertension in adulthood. There’s a common mistake by moms of adding high amounts of salt to improve the flavor of the food, however providing your baby with less salty food will impact the baby’s taste buds and palate in adulthood.
Nutrition for baby’s as well as adults needs special care and consideration. It’s important not to assume yours and your baby’s nutritional needs are the same.
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