Do not Overdo the Children Excess Salt from Food and Milk

Children's diets now tend to contain excessive amounts of salt. Especially if children more often enjoy foods that are high in salt, such as pizza, bread, prepared foods and processed foods. To note, the needs of children for salt is not as much as adults. The ideal salt intake in children is adjusted based on their age. Various products often write the amount of salt on the nutritional information label by including the sodium / sodium value only. However, the actual amount of salt is 2.5 times the value of the sodium content printed on the package.

Size of Salt Needs in Children

The need for salt in each person is not the same. In children, salt needs can be determined based on age. The following is the amount of salt needed in children under 11 years of age:

• Children aged 4-6 years, the need for salt intake is 3 grams per day, equivalent to 1.2 grams of sodium
• Children aged 7-10 years, the need for salt intake is 5 grams per day, equivalent to 2 grams of sodium.
• For children aged 11 years and over, the recommended salt intake requirement is 6 grams per day or equivalent to 2.4 grams of sodium.

Seeing the salt needs of children above, you must be more careful in providing nutrition for children. High-salt foods are in cheese, salted fish, pickles, smoked meat or fish, pickled foods, sauces, and soy sauce. To help with these efforts, on a variety of packaged foods, such as bread and cereal, even milk, you can check the nutrition label to determine how much sodium is contained in it. We recommend that you limit consumption of foods that are known to be high in salt. Then avoid adding salt to these types of food, because it has the potential to make children experience excess salt.

Choosing Milk without Additional Salt for Children

Milk is one source of supplementary nutrition in children. One of the benefits of milk is that it supports the development of children's nerves and brain through the fat content in milk, especially for children under the age of 2 years. Milk is also rich in vitamin D and is a source of calcium which can support the formation of strong bones in children. However, the dose of milk must be adjusted so as not to overdo it. For example, if a child's weight gain exceeds his height gain, it is recommended to start replacing high-fat milk with low-fat milk, even though the child's age is still under 2 years. This is to prevent the child from excess fat and cholesterol. In addition, it is not uncommon for people who give extra salt to milk to simply add a savory taste, various types of milk in the packaging also have a salt content in it to be more appetizing. However, it is best to avoid adding salt to children's milk, because children's salt needs can actually be met through their daily food intake. Excessive salt intake can increase thirst and hunger, and may even interfere with kidney health. Increased thirst along with hunger can indirectly increase the risk of obese children. Excess salt intake can also cause high blood pressure. By not consuming excess salt, high blood pressure can be prevented. Therefore, giving milk without salt can reduce the risk of hypertension in children and its various complications, because it does not contain additional salt. Actually milk also contains ingredients that make it taste. For example, lactose which is a natural sugar, so it gives a sweet taste. This substance is combined with other mineral substances, thus producing a savory taste of real milk. Children need appropriate nutrition for their development, including salt intake. Generally, daily food for children is sufficient for these needs. It is important for parents to ensure the nutritional intake that is given daily to children has a balanced amount of nutrition, including giving milk to children as a nutritional supplement.