Can My Baby Have Salt?
Eat Play Say’s Registered Dietitian sheds some light on a controversial topic: SALT.
Starting solids with your baby usually comes with a lot of questions. If you’re doing any form of baby led weaning and/or making purees at home, the question of whether to add salt to your baby’s food has probably come up. A quick Google search may leave you terrified to let even a grain of salt touch your baby’s lips. The good news is the fears around giving babies whole foods that have been salted are based on some not-so-good research.
Current Salt Recommendations for Babies
There are currently no exact salt intake recommendations for babies. However, most resources tell parents not to add any salt to baby food and to avoid giving babies food with salt to keep baby’s sodium intake as low as possible. The main rationales behind these recommendations are not necessarily legitimate.
So, let’s break them down so you can feel good about how much salt you decide to give your baby:
You may have heard: Infants’ kidneys are unable to properly process sodium. Is that true?
Turns out there is no data or research to support this claim.
It IS true that newborns have a lower capacity to process sodium, but that is for newborns - not babies starting solids around 6 months. There is data that suggests that around 4 months of age, healthy infants' kidney function is close to that of an adult. By one year of age, their kidney function is similar to that of an adult (1). The original discussion about infants and sodium intake dates back to a study done in the 1940s which has since been deemed invalid. There really isn’t enough evidence to back up the claim that baby’s kidneys are unable to handle a small amount of sodium added to their food.
You may have heard: Salt intake during infancy can lead to high blood pressure in adulthood. Is this true?
Again, there are no valid studies to date that legitimately back up this claim.
The research that has been done that suggests sodium in baby food is harmful comes from infants who were given solids extremely early, as young as 1-3 months. We know that infants’ kidneys are not as mature at that age and their digestive systems are not ready for solid food yet. Furthermore, the foods offered to these infants included canned pureed vegetables, canned pureed meats, evaporated milk and instant cereals - all very high in sodium. Needless to say, the data that came from this research is significantly flawed. If you are starting your baby on solids around 6 months, there is no evidence that completely restricting sodium will prevent future hypertension.
You may have heard: Babies will have a preference for salty food in adulthood if fed salt in infancy. Okay, is this one true?
Just like the first two claims, this one also lacks sufficient evidence to be valid.
One study fed a high sodium diet to a group of infants at ages 3-8 months and a low sodium control diet to another group of infants. The high sodium diet had 5x more sodium than the control diet. The infants were followed until age 8 and found “no indication that the salted foods imprinted a preference for salt at 8 years” (2). Interestingly, there is data that actually suggests the opposite is true. There is research showing infants with exposure to low salt intake, including while in utero, may be predisposed to higher salt intake later on (3).
Why Is Salt Necessary for Babies?
Despite all the vilifying of sodium for babies, it is actually an essential mineral that babies need in small amounts. Sodium is an electrolyte important for many bodily functions, most notably for maintaining fluid balance and pH levels of the body, regulating blood pressure, and influencing stomach acid which is important for digestion. It also promotes cell growth and protein synthesis. Hyponatremia, or low sodium levels, is actually far more common and more serious than high blood sodium levels in infants.
The consequences of low sodium levels in babies are severe.
So How Much Salt is Okay?
There is no exact amount that has been set. The consensus from the research seems to be that completely restricting sodium from complementary foods is not necessary and could actually lead to levels of sodium that are too low.
Babies 6-12 months of age are still getting their primary nutrition from breastmilk or formula. There is a wide variation of sodium amounts in breastmilk, especially when it comes to the locations and ethnicities of the mother. To give you an idea, a study of American women found breastmilk sodium levels to average 212mg/L at 3 weeks, 145 mg/L at 3 months, and 138 mg/L at 6 months postpartum (4). Infant formula has varying amounts of sodium, all within the range of around 200 mg/L. It’s impossible to know how much sodium a baby consumes while breastfeeding, but that’s okay. It’s usually not necessary to try and track how much sodium your baby is eating.
If you are mostly preparing meals for your baby from scratch and seasoning them yourself, then yes - go ahead and add a small pinch of salt to baby’s food! Salt your meals as you normally would, and you can feel good about giving that same food to your baby. Salting your food makes it taste better and can help with better acceptance of the food and reduced picky eating. (Would you eat plain smashed peas without any seasoning? Yeah, probably not…So why would we expect baby to?)
On the other hand, if your baby is eating a lot of processed foods (which are best to limit or avoid if you can in infancy) then it is probably necessary to pay attention to the amount of sodium in these foods. Typically, overconsumption of sodium comes from eating too many processed foods. According to the CDC, 58% of children’s sodium consumption comes from processed foods (5).
Salt in Processed Foods
Let’s look at some examples of processed baby foods, processed “kid foods,” and some other items.
My Serenity Kids Squashes Pouch - 0 mg per pouch
Gerber Rice Cereal - 5 mg per ¼ cup serving
My Serenity Kids Beef Pouch - 25 mg per pouch
Gerber Carrot Baby Food Puree - 40 mg per 1 serving
My Serenity Kids Roots Pouch - 40 mg per pouch
Thrive Market Sweet Potato Chips - 125 mg per 1 oz serving
Annie’s Organic Ketchup - 130 mg per 1 Tbsp serving
Kettle & Fire Classic Chicken Bone Broth - 155 mg per 4 oz serving
Kettle & Fire Classic Beef Bone Broth - 185 mg per 4 oz serving
Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies - 200 mg per 1 packet
Annie’s Organic Cheddar Cheese Puffs - 220 mg per serving
Applegate Organic Chicken Nuggets - 410 mg per serving
Applegate Genoa Salami - 420 mg per 1 oz serving
Amy’s Organic Cheese Pizza - 590 mg per serving
Amy’s Organic Canned Vegetable Barley Soup - 750 mg per 1 cup
Thrive Market Organic Tamari - 890 mg per 1 Tbsp serving
As you can see, all the “baby foods” have minimal amounts of sodium. The processed foods marketed more towards children have increasing amounts of sodium. Then there are the foods that are highest in sodium, such as condiments, canned soups, tamari/soy sauce, chips, deli meat/salami, etc.
A Note About Bone Broth
Something to note is that store bought bone broth does have some sodium. Yes, it is a great part of a healthy diet. However, if you’re home making a lot of your baby’s purees and thinning them with bone broth and it continues to be a regular part of your baby’s diet, just make sure you factor that into their overall sodium consumption. You are likely only adding a small amount to their foods so it’s not something to worry about, just to be aware of. You can always try making homemade bone broth as well - then you can control the sodium content. It’s easier than you think!
What Type of Salt is Best?
An unprocessed salt, such as natural sea salt, celtic salt, or Himalayan salt is a better option than iodized table salt. These salts are less processed and have a higher trace mineral content. The only caveat is they don’t have iodine added, so feeding your baby enough foods rich in iodine, such as seafood, is important.
Hopefully some of your questions and fears around giving your baby sodium have been put to rest. The bottom line is: there is not enough research behind the recommendation to restrict baby’s sodium intake. In addition, the research that has been used to support this recommendation is extremely flawed. A narrative review of all evidence surrounding recommending no added salt for babies revealed there is no significant evidence to support the claim (6).
If you are giving your baby mostly whole, real foods prepared by you and salted by you, then there is no need to worry about them over-consuming sodium.
It’s okay to prepare homemade food as you normally would by seasoning to taste and offering this same food to your baby.
If you’re gearing up for solids or you already started offering bites, this one is for you:
Sources
Haycock, G.B., Aperia, A. Salt and the newborn kidney. Pediatr Nephrol 5, 65–70 (1991).
Whitten, Charles F., and Robert A. Stewart. “The effect of dietary sodium in infancy on blood pressure and related factors: studies of infants fed salted and unsalted diets for five months at eight months and eight years of age.” Acta Pædiatrica 69 (1980): 3-17.
Shirazki, Adi, et al. “Lowest neonatal serum sodium predicts sodium intake in low birth weight children.” American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 292.4 (2007): R1683-R1689.
Allen JC, Keller RP, Archer P, Neville MC. Studies in human lactation: milk composition and daily secretion rates of macronutrients in the first year of lactation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Jul;54(1):69-80. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/54.1.69. PMID: 2058590
Quader ZS, Gillespie C, Sliwa SA, Ahuja JK, Burdg JP, Moshfegh A, Pehrsson PR, Gunn JP, Mugavero K, Cogswell ME. Sodium Intake among US School-Aged Children: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2012. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Jan;117(1):39-47.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.010. Epub 2016 Nov 3. PMID: 27818138; PMCID: PMC5458522.
Yang S, Wang H. Avoidance of added salt for 6-12-month-old infants: A narrative review. Arch Pediatr. 2023 Nov;30(8):595-599. doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2023.08.009. Epub 2023 Oct 5. PMID: 37805298.
