Babies under a year should not have any salt added to their food as this can strain immature kidneys and cause dehydration. A preference for salt can become established at an early age and eating too much salt may lead to high blood pressure later in life. You should also avoid smoked foods.
Over half of all children eat twice as much as salt as they should. It is estimated that by reducing salt intake by just 3g a day for adults, 14 per cent fewer people would suffer strokes and there would be 10 per cent fewer heart attacks.
Bones would benefit, too, as excess salt causes a loss of calcium, which could lead to bone thinning, a higher risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
The liking for salt and salty foods is a learned taste preference. During the first year babies are not given any salt in their diet and they don't miss it.
However, after this more and more salt creeps into your child's food. There is hidden salt in foods such as bread and breakfast cereals. In fact, cornflakes contain as much salt as seawater.
Approximately three-quarters of the salt children consume comes from processed foods. So, to reduce your child's salt intake you must limit the amount of processed foods, snacks and fast food, such as pizzas, chicken nuggets, spaghetti hoops and crisps, that your child consumes. As fas as possible, ensure that your child eats freshly cooked food that does not contain added salt.
Most foods are labelled with grams of sodium per 100g. One gram of sodium is equivalent to 2.5g of salt, so anything with more than 0.5g sodium per 100g is too high in salt. Try to buy foods with less than 0.2g of sodium per 100g.
Recommended salt intake per day is 2g for one to three years old, 3g for four to six years old, and 5g (or 1 teaspoon) for seven to ten years old.
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