Article | Zhang Nv’s parenting: Be a good mother, take care of your baby, and your baby will love your mother. (This article is original and the copyright belongs to the author)

At what age does a baby need to add salt to complementary food? Adding it too early satisfies the baby's mouth, but damages the baby's kidneys

Generally speaking, when the baby is 6 months old, it is necessary to add complementary food to the baby, as long as it can better meet the baby's physical development nutritional needs. But when adding complementary food to the baby, is it necessary to add salt to the baby? When is the best time to start adding salt to your baby?

Most people of the older generation may think that salt should be given to babies. Food without salt has no taste and they are not willing to eat it. How can babies like to eat it? Moreover, table salt also contains iodine, which is necessary for the human body, otherwise people may suffer from big neck disease. Young parents, on the other hand, believe that salt should not be added to complementary foods for babies under 1 year old, otherwise it will affect physical development. Which statement is more correct?

Does the baby have any need for salt?

Generally speaking, food does need salt to taste and taste good. If you add a little salt to your baby's complementary food, your baby will like to eat it more, but is this really good for your baby's health?

In fact, this corresponds to the saying that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. The same goes for diet. For us adults, we are used to eating flavorful and delicious food. In our daily diet, we not only add salt, but also add various seasonings to make it appetizing. If suddenly no seasonings are added and the salt is very light, no matter how good the chef is, the food will be tasteless.

For newborn babies, there is not much demand for taste. Breast milk actually has no taste, but newborn babies love it so much that they like it more than any other food. You may eat it until you are several years old. In fact, the same is true for babies' complementary foods. Babies don't have much demand for taste. If salt and condiments are not added to the complementary foods at the beginning, the baby will still like to eat them.

But if once salt is added to the baby's complementary food, and suddenly no salt is added, the baby will definitely not like food without salt. This is also human nature. Moreover, babies may have a more sensitive sense of taste than adults. Adults may not feel anything about salt in food, but babies can eat it. Therefore, they will also eat food that we think does not have salt taste with gusto.

Is it really good to give salt to your baby just after adding complementary foods?

For babies who have just added complementary foods, the baby's body organs are not fully developed, and the detoxification function of the kidneys is not perfect. If the baby eats salt too early, it will increase the burden on the baby's kidneys and is not conducive to the health of the baby's kidneys. Healthy development. It may also cause edema and increased blood pressure in the baby. In severe cases, it may also cause congestive heart failure in the baby, endangering the baby's life and health.

The standards for sodium salt required by babies at each stage are as follows:

Babies 0-6 months old: The daily sodium intake should not exceed 200 mg (the baby can definitely pass Breast milk is available);

Babies 6-12 months old: no more than 1.2 grams of salt per day, the sodium contained in the food itself can meet the baby's needs;

1-2 years old Baby: no more than 1.6 grams of salt per day. At this time, you can add not just a little bit of salt to the baby, but a light salt taste.

For babies aged 2-3 years old, do not exceed 2 grams per day.

For babies aged 4-5 years old, do not exceed 3 grams per day.

The recommended daily intake of salt for adults is no more than 6 grams.

Moms can add an appropriate amount of salt to their babies according to the babies of different ages. They should not add salt to their babies too early, especially for babies under 1 year old. Do not add salt. Did you do it right?

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※ About the author: Ms. Zhang has been engaged in childcare for more than 10 years and has two naughty ghosts at home.

It has the same name as the account on Baijia, Toutiao, Penguin and other platforms. It is an original author in the field of high-quality parenting. It focuses on sharing scientific parenting knowledge and growing up healthily and happily with babies. If you have any confusion on the parenting journey, you can send me a private message.

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