When can babies eat salt
Release time : 04/20/2025 09:30:01
Salt is an indispensable seasoning for everyone. It not only enhances the taste of our food but also helps us to acquire the necessary nutrients to avoid fatigue.
Salt is essential for both adults and children.
However, due to the special nature of babies, there are many more requirements for salt. What is the relationship between salt and babies, and what should we know about it? The following article will tell us the answer! When can babies eat salt? Babies are breastfed by their mothers at birth, gradually switch to formula as substitutes, but when they grow up to six months old, they need to start eating complementary foods, and they can slowly start to add salt to obtain energy.
It is important to understand that babies, being so delicate, should not be given salt at either an early or a late age. What exactly is the optimal time for babies to start consuming salt? Generally speaking, babies can start eating complementary foods after they turn 6 months old and need not consume excessive amounts of salt. It is generally recommended that salt should only be added to baby food in small amounts once the baby reaches the age of one year.
In the first six months of a baby's life, there is no need to specifically add salt to their diet. During this period, the daily requirement for salt in babies is less than 1 gram, which can be obtained from breast milk or formula. Early introduction of salt may hinder normal development in babies.
During the baby's first year, mothers should control the amount of salt to about 1 gram per day. After that, they can gradually increase it, but still shouldn't exceed 2 grams.
When babies are weak, such as diarrhea, or profuse sweating, or vomiting, it is advisable to increase the salt intake appropriately.
Signs of excessive salt intake in infants include symptoms such as irritability, restlessness, poor appetite, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
When it comes to salt consumption, the demand for salt is far greater than that of others, resulting in a significant amount of salt being consumed daily by infants. What are the manifestations of consuming excessive amounts of salt? 1. Impairments in heart and kidney function. Infants are at an immature stage of organ development, so their salt requirements are relatively low.
If babies eat too much salt, it is very heavy on their kidneys. If it's severe, it can lead to renal failure in babies. It also affects the heart negatively.
2. For infants with osteoporosis or prone to fractures, excessive sodium intake can significantly burden the kidneys, thereby increasing the excretion of calcium. This disrupts the balance of bone metabolism, making it more likely for these babies to suffer from osteoporosis or be more prone to fractures compared to other infants.
3. If an infant has a respiratory disease, consuming too much salt can lead to a decrease in saliva secretion in the baby's mouth, thereby increasing the survival rate of viruses in the oral cavity.
At the same time, the component in salt can also destroy the defense ability of the oral and other parts of the body, so that the resistance of babies is reduced, and the oral cavity is more prone to respiratory diseases.
Developing a taste for salty foods can lead to changes in dietary habits over time, as children with a long-standing preference for high-salt diets tend to adopt these eating patterns.
And a heavy diet will also lay more hidden dangers for future health.
What are the misunderstandings about baby eating salt? The baby's stomach and constitution are different from those of us adults. When we eat salt, most of us use salt casually and eat salt according to our own appetite.
For babies, reasonable salt can help the baby get a healthy body. Therefore, when eating salt, the baby must avoid the misunderstanding of eating salt, so that the baby can better receive the energy brought by salt. So what are the misunderstandings about baby eating salt? 1. Parents have the biggest disagreement on the view that babies have no strength if they don't eat salt. Many parents believe that the reason why their babies have no vitality is because they don't eat salt.
However, it is important to understand that the developmental milestones and timelines for crawling and walking vary from child to child. The consumption of salt does not have a significant impact on these milestones in children under one year old, as they can obtain all the necessary salt intake from breast milk or formula.
For a baby that is developing normally, if the baby lacks vitality or has delayed motor skills, it is important to consider whether this may be due to not having given the child enough space to learn and practice.
For this situation, it is possible to create a safe environment for the baby to exercise on their own.
2. Feeding solids without salt, and babies won't eat. Many parents believe that babies don't like their food because the solids are not seasoned with salt, which makes them tasteless.
I always feel that adding salt and other seasonings to the baby's first foods will make them more willing to eat.
However, babies' taste buds are actually more sensitive than ours. Even if it's just plain soup for a baby who loves to eat, they can still enjoy it with great enthusiasm.
The harm of not allowing babies to eat salt. As a mother, when she is trying to switch her baby's diet and tries to add salt to it, she finds that her baby has always been resistant to salt.
If a baby refuses to eat salt, there are potential harms. The harmful effects of not allowing babies to consume salt include: 1. Neurological disorders: Salt contains a special substance called sodium ions, which are essential for the transmission of nerve impulses in the baby's nervous system. Moreover, heartbeat and muscle contraction are also closely related to sodium ions.
Therefore, if a baby does not eat salt for a long time, the nervous system will become very weak, and the person will also become weak.
2. Influenced by taste, long-term salt deprivation resulted in consuming foods that were bland and lacked flavor.
Long-term lack of salt in the body can lead to a disharmony in the secretion of digestive fluids by the baby, thereby affecting the baby's appetite.
3. Abnormal physical condition, if the baby is not eating salt for a long time, lack of salt will cause low sodium in the body, mildly can cause dizziness, serious babies may have anorexia or vomiting or muscle spasms or blurred vision.
4. Cancer-causing, when babies' body intake of salt is insufficient, it will cause the budding of cancer.
Consequently, when the intake of salt is inadequate, acid accumulates from other cells in the body. When the concentration of acid in cells is too high, it damages the structure of DNA and leads to cancer.
Why can't my baby eat salt indiscriminately? Some parents will start eating salt-containing foods for their babies too early because they want their babies to come into contact with staple foods earlier.
Or they think their baby is not physically strong enough, so they want to feed the baby more salt in order to get energy.
In fact, these actions are the result of parental subjective behavior, which may not necessarily be beneficial for babies.
Why shouldn't babies eat salt? Because of the special nature of their age, many organs are not yet fully developed. If they consume salt indiscriminately at this stage, it could cause minor discomfort and slight health issues in the baby. In severe cases, it may directly lead to the loss of life for the baby.
When introducing salt to infants, it is crucial to consider the timing. Typically, babies are introduced to salt in their first year of life and gradually begin incorporating it into their complementary foods. When including salt, it is essential to control the amount, as the demand for salt by babies cannot be measured using adult standards.
Apart from time, another important factor is the amount of salt to be added to baby food. Many people believe that babies can eat more salt, and the more salt they consume, the higher their vitality will be.
However, too much or too little salt can harm the baby's health. When adding salt to your baby's food, it is essential to consider their specific condition and gradually increase the amount of salt added. However, after this initial phase, it is best to limit the daily amount of salt to around 2 grams for your baby.
The medical information provided in this text is for reference only.
In the event of discomfort, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately for a definitive diagnosis and treatment at a hospital or clinic.