Should salt be added to baby food? Can salt be added to baby food?

Many parents tend to make subjective mistakes when making food for their babies, thinking that babies should also accept salt seasoning. Today, let's talk about whether you can add salt when making complementary food for your baby. Does food with salt cause harm to babies? The following is a detailed introduction.

Should salt be added to baby food?

1. It is not advisable to add salt to the diet of babies under 3 months old.

2. After 3 months, as the baby grows and develops, the kidney function gradually improves, and the baby can eat some salty food appropriately, but the amount of intake should be controlled. After 6 months, the daily salt intake should be limited to less than 1 gram, and gradually increase after 1 year old, but it should not exceed 2 grams.

3. In summer, when babies sweat more, or have diarrhea or vomiting, the baby's salt intake can be slightly increased than usual.

Can salt be added to baby food?

Do not add salt. Table salt is also called sodium chloride, which is composed of sodium ions and chloride ions. Because the baby's kidney function is weak, it is difficult to dilute these chemical elements. Adding salt to the baby's complementary food will undoubtedly increase the burden on the baby's kidneys.

The baby's kidneys are not fully developed yet. If the baby consumes too much salt, it will easily increase the burden on the kidneys. In addition, too much salt will bring too much sodium to the body, thereby promoting potassium excretion from the urine, and the baby will easily become tired and sleepy. It is generally recommended not to add salt when preparing complementary foods for babies under 12 months old.

Will babies not eat without adding salt?

No, babies can accept it. Many foods have their own unique flavors. For example, when making noodle soup, adding washed and chopped shrimp skin can also enhance the flavor. Delicious sushi, which uses seaweed to roll up rice, also has a unique seafood flavor. For more homely foods, such as pumpkin, don't have to make it into salted egg yolk pumpkin. It's delicious just boiled in water. Let your baby eat original food, and you will find that your baby enjoys it just as much, and it will make your baby more sensitive to various tastes in the future.

The harm of high salt diet to babies

1. A high-salt diet can reduce oral saliva secretion and lysozyme accordingly, which is conducive to the existence of various bacteria and viruses in the upper respiratory tract.

2. After a high-salt diet, the osmotic effect of salt can kill the normal parasitic flora in the upper respiratory tract, causing dysbacteriosis and leading to illness.

3. A high-salt diet can inhibit the reproduction of oral mucosal epithelial cells, causing them to lose their disease resistance.

4. A high-salt diet will affect the absorption of zinc in children and cause zinc deficiency in children.

5. A high-salt diet will increase the burden on the baby's heart and kidneys. The baby's kidneys are not fully developed and cannot absorb too much salt. If too much salt is added to the complementary food, it will increase the burden on the baby's kidneys and heart, thereby damaging the kidney and heart functions. Moreover, if a child develops a high-salt diet habit from an early age, it will not be easy to correct it when he grows up, and a high-salt diet habit can easily cause diseases such as high blood pressure.