Salt not only provides the salty taste, but also removes the fishy smell and accentuates the umami of the dish. But if you take too much, it will damage your body.
For babies under 1 year, no salt is added. Because whether it is breast milk, infant formula, or the complementary food added to the baby after 6 months, there is sodium chloride required for physical development at this stage, and sodium is the main component of salt.
After the age of 1, you can try adding a moderate amount of salt to your baby. Babies 1 to 3 years old should consume 1 gram of salt a day, but not more than 2 grams. 3 grams per day for 4 to 6 years old, 4 grams per day for 7-10 years old, and no more than 5 grams per day for 11 years and older.
Some people say this is as fine as 1 gram and 2 grams. Is it so important? really so important. Excessive intake of salt can have a great impact on your baby’s body.
First, it will increase the burden on your baby’s kidneys. The salt we eat is processed by the kidneys and excreted through the urine. The baby’s kidneys are immature, and taking too much will increase the work of the kidneys and cause damage.
Secondly, a high-salt diet can make your baby’s taste worse. And long-term high-salt diet will put children at risk of cardiovascular disease and digestive tract disease in adulthood.
Finally, eating too much salt can reduce the body’s immunity. Because salt will reduce the secretion of oral saliva, bacteria and viruses can take advantage of the respiratory tract, and it is easy to suffer from diseases such as colds and coughs.
So, how can you help your baby reduce salt intake?
First, prepare food for your baby individually.
Some babies reach the age of 2 or 3, and parents feel that it is too troublesome to cook alone for their babies, so they let the children and adults eat together.
But a baby’s physique is different from an adult’s. Even if you don’t cook for your baby alone, you can serve your baby’s dishes ahead of time, and then add salt or soy sauce to the adult’s taste.
When cooking for your baby, make the most of the flavors of the ingredients. Sweet potatoes, red dates, pumpkins, tomatoes and other foods are rich in their own flavors. Not only healthy, but also develop children’s taste buds and avoid picky eaters and anorexia.
Second, advocate a low-salt diet for families.
Eating too much salt is not good for adults and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and digestive tract disease. Babies will always eat at the same table as adults and will be influenced by family eating habits. Therefore, adults should also let themselves develop the habit of eating less salt.
There are many ways to cook. Braised today, try steaming tomorrow; stir fry today, try blanching tomorrow. In this way, you can balance your salt intake and develop good family eating habits.
Be careful when adding salt when cooking. Add salt just before serving, so that the salt stays on the surface of the food, making it saltier when you eat it.
It doesn’t mean that only table salt contains salt. Soy sauce, cooking wine, and vinegar also contain salt. 10 ml of ordinary soy sauce is converted into about 1.7 grams of salt. If you add soy sauce and salt, the salt content of a dish is very high. Therefore, when choosing condiments other than salt, pay attention to choosing low-sodium content, and try to put as little as possible.
Third, reduce the number of times you eat out.
Outside meals often need to be full of color, aroma, and flavor. In order to make the dishes look better, they are usually cooked in braised sauce. The sugar added to braise can mask the salty taste, and to make the food taste better, chefs add more salt.
Especially some stir-fried vegetables, hot pot dishes, and spicy foods are particularly prone to excessive salt.
Even if you have to eat out sometimes, give your baby some fried, blanched or steamed food. Even if you rinse it in water and eat it, it’s good.
Fourth, avoid daily”Invisible salt” intake.
In addition to the kitchen, everyday snacks are often the location of the “invisible salt.” For example, the cakes and breads that babies like to eat are sweet, glutinous and fragrant. But don’t think it’s just sugar. When making dough, salt is added to increase the elasticity of the gluten.
There are also some nut foods, which are mostly seasoned with salt during the frying process.
Some pre-packaged lo-mei, such as dried bean curd, are the hardest hit areas for “invisible salt”. For example, a 100-gram package of dried tofu can contain 1067 mg of sodium.
When shopping for snacks, pay more attention to the ingredient list. After reading it, you will find that snacks such as soda crackers, ham sausages, and spiced peanuts are all high in sodium. Even the noodles we often eat may be high in salt.
The ingredient list of a food usually shows the sodium content, which is the salt content multiplied by 2.5. Usually choose low-sodium foods, such as plain nuts, low-sugar yogurt, etc.
Mothers should be considerate when purchasing snacks to prevent the intake of “invisible salt”.