As long as a baby is exclusively breastfed or gets its milk from a bottle, it's all set. But the more often Complementary food As soon as a child's stomach is full and the next generation takes part in family meals, the question of the "salt in the soup" comes to the fore.
It is undisputed: common salt is essential for the human body. As sodium chloride (chemical formula: NaCl), it consists of sodium and chloride. In the body, these minerals ensure that the fluid balance in the cells is maintained, nerve impulses are transmitted and blood pressure is regulated, among other things.
However, scientists and the medical profession have long been concerned that many people consistently consume too much salt every day. Around 70% of women and even more men (80%) are well above the recommended limit of 6 grams of salt per day for adults. Here, "significantly too much" means that many adults consume between 10 and 15 grams of salt per day.
The following rule of thumb gives you a feel for the amount: a level teaspoon of salt corresponds to around 5 grams of salt. This adds up quickly, because we don't just salt our food to taste, but salt is already in many foods, especially processed foods!
However, if you regularly consume too much salt, this can lead to health problems in the long term (more on this below). This applies to adults, but especially to babies and (small) children.
How much salt can children eat?
Certain unprocessed foods such as vegetables, meat or cereals therefore already contain salt by nature - albeit so little that you can't taste it. And even breast milk contains a small amount of salt. All of this is enough to cover your baby's salt requirements in the first year of life.
In plain language: No additional salt should be added to complementary foods until your child's first birthday!
This rule also applies if the porridge or the first pieces of vegetables seem bland to you. Your child will experience this differently because their taste buds are still much more sensitive than those of their parents. Your baby will also get to know the original flavour of food in an "unsalted way". Salt is a flavour carrier or enhancer. The same also applies to sugar and fat.
After the first birthday There is no official standardised recommendation regarding a "salt limit" for the little ones. Neither the World Health Organisation (WHO) nor the German Nutrition Society provide any specific information on the amount of salt for babies or children. This may be due to the fact that children eat smaller portions than adults. Based on the recommended salt limit for adults (maximum 6 grams per day), they therefore consume correspondingly less salt.
The National Health Service (National Health Service in Great Britain) has, however, published guideline values that can also be used as a guide for us in Germany:
- for children in the first year of life: maximum 1 gram of salt per day,
- for children from 1 to 3 years: 2 grams,
- for children from 4 to 6 years: 3 grams,
- for children from 7 to 10 years: 5 grams,
- for children aged 11 and over and adults 6 grams.
Where is salt hiding?
So if you want to keep an eye on your child's salt consumption - and preferably yours too - it's important to know which foods you should be particularly careful with.
Salt is mainly found in processed foods. We consume around 25% of our daily salt intake from bread/rolls, around 18% from meat and sausage products and around 10% from cheese and dairy products.
Ready-made products in particular (so-called convenience products) usually contain a lot of salt. We are talking here about products that have been industrially (pre-)processed or are often largely ready to eat. Many of these foods only need to be heated or mixed. Examples include tinned and ready meals, packet soups or sauces, frozen foods or baking mixes. However, it makes a difference whether you use completely unseasoned frozen vegetables, which you salt or season yourself when serving, or whether you use a ready-seasoned vegetable mix, such as "Italian style". The manufacturers often use salt as a flavour enhancer.
Hence my tip: If possible, avoid ready-made products in the complementary food for the youngest children. This will also benefit the health of the rest of the family.
So read the nutritional information on packaged foods carefully. Since 2016, "salt" must also be explicitly labelled. Previously, only "sodium" was listed to disguise this. However, this value still has to be multiplied by a factor of 2.54 to determine the actual salt content.
You will also find information on the sodium content of mineral water on the label. Pay attention to the manufacturer's information here Suitable for the preparation of baby food.
What damage can salt cause?
If the salt concentration in the body is greatly increased, water is removed from the cells to compensate for this excess. The consequences can be diarrhoea and vomiting, as well as cardiac and respiratory disorders. Just 0.5 to 1 gram of table salt per kilogram of body weight per day can endanger the lives of babies and small children. This is known as salt poisoning - which, however, is rare.
Consuming too much salt in the long term can lead to high blood pressure, resulting in damage to organs such as the heart and brain or the kidneys and blood vessels. This also applies to (young) children.
Those who are used to or become accustomed to an intense salty flavour will also demand and consume more and more salt in the long term, as otherwise the meal will quickly appear bland in taste. This spiral also needs to be broken. It is not irreversible: everyone can get used to it again and find a taste for less "salty" food.
How can you eat a low-salt diet that tastes delicious?
The easiest way to start is to replace high-salt (and often expensive) ready-made products with home-cooked food. Preparation is often surprisingly easy and usually quicker than you might think. What's more, home-cooked meals regularly reduce the strain on the household budget. For example, you can whip up a sauce from fresh tomatoes in no time at all, which can replace the convenience product from the jar. This not only saves you salt, but also sugar. This is because many of these convenience products also contain sugar. Many mums and dads also buy a cookery book and enjoy trying out new things. I also know many families for whom a "baby recipe" has become a favourite family classic for years.
If your child is already taking part in family meals, it is easy to take a portion of the finished dish for the baby and only then flavour the rest for "the grown-ups". Very spicy food is also not yet suitable for the little ones.
Tip: In a low-salt kitchen for everyone, you can use more herbs or other spices instead of more cooking salt. For example, parsley, dill, basil, a little garlic or mild curry or paprika powder provide a spicy, subtle flavour.
You can also vary the bread toppings. For example, sliced cheese such as Gouda can be easily replaced with low-salt cream cheese with tomato slices. Or instead of bread, you can have oatmeal for breakfast, stirred into natural yoghurt with some fresh fruit.
Mind you: It's not about condemning every food that contains more salt than another (e.g. sliced cheese vs. cream cheese) from the menu, but about bringing healthy variety to the plate with tasty variations. The more you try, the more enjoyment not only your baby, but your whole family will have from a healthy diet with little(er) salt.
