Most kids get too much salt! We often grab the salt even before we have tasted our food. According to studies, children eat on average 3100Mg sodium per day: double the amount recommended. Most of the salt is already in their food before they eat it and they can’t take it out. The leading contributors to the sodium that six to 18 year olds eat are:
Pizza
Bread and rolls
Cold cuts and cured meats
Savoury snacks (pretzels too!)
Cheese
Chicken patties and nuggets
Pasta mixed dishes
Comparing labels to pick the product with the lowest amount of sodium is very important. Kids with high-sodium diets are almost 40 percent more likely to have elevated blood pressure than kids with lower-sodium diets and the effect is even greater if they’re overweight. This leads to early development of heart disease and risk for premature death. In addition, 14 to 18 year old teens with a high sodium intake have more body fat than those who eat less sodium.
• Discuss the overuse of salt and its dangers with your family members: old and young.
• Be a healthy role model.
• Involve your kids when choosing and preparing healthy meals
• Play a game: “Comparing labels”
• Keep their kidneys healthy by motivating them to drink a lot of water.
Start young! Our taste preferences for salt are shaped by what we eat early in life. Kids may not prefer so much salt if they’re given foods with less sodium from an early age. Start weaning them of a high sodium diet and rather use herbs and garlic to flavour their food!
By Dr Deseré Ferreira