Important Salts
How do I know if a formula has enough sodium?
All commercially available infant formulas meet the minimum recommendations of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and contain adequate sodium for healthy, full-term infants throughout the first 12 months of life.
Why do we need sodium anyway?
Sodium is important for control of the amount of water in the body. It is also an important component of bone and is required for growth of your baby.
What happens when there is too little or too much sodium?
Too little sodium in the diet can impair growth. High sodium loss with vomiting or diarrhea can cause dehydration. Too much sodium in the diet can lead to swelling and increased blood pressure.
I have heard of potassium salts, too. Are they the same as sodium salts?
Potassium salts are not the same as sodium salts. Table salt is a sodium salt – sodium chloride. Other foods high in sodium content include cow’s milk and milk products, bread and bakery products, processed meats, canned vegetables, tomato juice, and fast foods.
Table salt substitutes contain potassium salts. Foods that are especially high in potassium include bananas, tomatoes, oranges, carrots, and green beans.
Sodium is the major salt in body water that is outside the cells, while potassium is the major salt in body water that is inside the cells. The amount of potassium in the body and the distribution of potassium inside and outside of the cells have important effects on heart, muscle, and nerve function.
Why do we need potassium?
Potassium is the major salt in body water that is inside the cells. The amount of potassium in the body and the balance of potassium inside and outside the cells have important effects on muscle function.
What happens when there is too little or too much potassium?
Too little potassium in the blood can cause vomiting, abdominal distension, muscle cramps, sleepiness, and abnormal types of heart rates. Too much potassium can cause muscle weakness and life-threatening abnormal rhythms of heart beats.
I give my baby table food. How much salt should I use?
You should add no additional salt at the table to foods consumed by the baby, because table foods without added salt provide considerably more than the amount of sodium that is considered to be adequate for infants.
Can I give some extra water to my baby between breast feedings?
Feeding babies water between breast feedings is acceptable, but not necessary except perhaps for the very young infant in very warm and dry environments. Supplementation of breastfeeding with water during the beginning of breastfeeding, in the first few days of life, can actually make it difficult to establish breastfeeding. This practice may also result in delayed milk production, cause more weight loss in the baby, and worsen jaundice (yellowing of the skin) that normally occurs in many newborns in the first week of life.
Does my salt intake affect salt intake in my baby?
There is no immediate influence of your salt intake on the sodium content of your breast milk. Significant dehydration (water and sodium deficiency) can impair milk production. However, modest restriction or addition of the amount of salt in your diet will not significantly affect either the volume of milk produced or
the concentration of sodium in the milk.
I have heard of problems occurring when some milk formula companies did not add enough chloride to formula.What happens when there is not enough chloride in the formula?
Chloride is an important part of salt (salt is usually sodium plus chloride). Inadequate chloride results in chloride deficiency, low blood acid levels, and poor growth. This is very unlikely to happen since the procedures and government regulations for checking formula composition are very strict.
What about when there is too much chloride? Is there a problem?
Excessive chloride intake is usually the result of excessive salt (sodium chloride) intake. This can produce swelling and increased blood pressure. This is rarely a problem unless accidental eating or drinking of foods or liquids with great excesses of sodium chloride occurs.
We have a strong family history of high blood pressure. Should I be concerned about the salt in my baby’s diet?
It is commonly believed that the amount of sodium in our diet contributes to high blood pressure in adults. This is especially so in some individuals who inherit a sensitivity to sodium in the diet. However, it is not known whether the amount of sodium in the diet during infancy has any effect on the development of high blood pressure later in adulthood.
But I have heard that salt might affect blood pressure in infants. Is that true?
Within the range of sodium considered to be safe and adequate in the diet for infants, those whose diets contain more sodium have slightly higher blood pressures than do babies whose diets contain less sodium. No one knows whether such a slight increase in blood pressure during infancy has any harmful effects. Also, no one knows whether slightly higher blood pressure during infancy leads to the development of high blood pressure later in life. In general, it is probably best not to add any extra salt to your baby’s diet.
My whole family is on a salt-restricted diet. My baby is now one year old. What should I do with his diet?
Babies on usual table food and whole cow’s milk diets have sodium intakes that are considerably greater than the National Research Council has established to be adequate for this age. Therefore, moderate restriction of sodium intake will still provide an adequate amount of sodium for normal growth and development. There is no reason not to feed the same foods to your baby as you do the rest of the family.
I have heard that baby foods now have reduced amounts of salt. Is that really good?
A diet of breast milk, commercial infant formula, and/or commercial baby food provides adequate sodium intake. Babies on this amount of sodium eat, grow, and develop as well as do babies with greater intake. In addition, blood pressure tends to be lower. Some authorities believe this may be advantageous.
Baby foods seem so tasteless. Can I add salt?
Babies don’t seem to mind! The baby’s taste is different from your taste. Babies fed diets low in sodium eat as well as those fed diets higher in sodium. It is recommended that all healthy infants have the low dietary sodium intake provided by breast milk, commercial infant formula, and/or commercial baby food. No salt should be added to baby foods, or later on, to table foods consumed by infants.
I like to season my foods with salts and spices. Would it hurt if I give some of my table food to my 10-month-old baby?
Table foods without added salt provide infants with an amount of salt (ie, sodium) that is considerably more than is considered to be adequate for infants. Furthermore, babies eat as well on diets low in salt as diets higher in salt.
Likewise, tastes for spices are acquired, so spices are, therefore, unnecessary to stimulate most babies’ appetites. Highly spiced food may actually cause indigestion in babies.
For these reasons, it is probably better not to feed infants table foods highly seasoned with salt and spices.
In the summer my baby sweats considerably. Should I give her extra salt?
Babies who are fed breast milk, commercial infant formula, and/or commercial baby foods exclusively, receive a daily sodium intake that approximates that considered to be adequate. Therefore, an additional source of water and sodium may occasionally be beneficial in conditions that increase sweating. However, if you are concerned about this possibility you should discuss it with your baby’s doctor before supplemental sources of sodium are started.
Older infants on cow’s milk or table foods have sodium intakes considerably greater than is considered to be adequate. Therefore, increased sodium intake is not required for sweating.
I understand that you lose salts when you have diarrhea. Do I have to give extra salts when my baby has diarrhea?
Increased amounts of sodium, potassium, chloride, and water are all lost from the body with diarrhea. Therefore, it is important to give increased water and salts when a baby has diarrhea. This is best accomplished by giving an easily digested fluid containing the proper amounts of these salts to compensate for diarrhea losses. There is little margin for error in infants, however, and whenever such treatment is necessary, it should be under the supervision of a qualified physician.
I am on water pills. My doctor tells me that water pills get rid of salt and water. I am breastfeeding. Will that affect my baby?
Most types of water pills are compatible with breastfeeding. They do pass into breast milk, but the amount received by the baby is insignificant. No known ill effects on the baby are known to occur. Some types of water pills can decrease milk production. It is a good idea to inform your own doctor and your baby’s doctor that you are breastfeeding and that you are taking water pills.
I hear that bananas are rich in potassium. Is that good for babies? Should I give my baby more or fewer bananas?
Although they are rich in potassium, more or fewer bananas in the diet are neither advantageous nor harmful to healthy infants. As with any food, moderation is the key.
My mother takes potassium pills. The doctors tell her that too much potassium is dangerous. How do I know if my baby is getting too much potassium?
A diet of breast milk, commercial infant formula, commercial baby foods, and/or table food that is age-appropriate will provide an amount of potassium that is adequate and safe for healthy babies. The body can usually get rid of extra potassium, so that abnormally high potassium levels cannot be caused by potassium in the diet of a healthy baby.
My friend read that the foods the mother eats during pregnancy can affect the baby’s instinct for taste. Is that right?
These studies are still in the early stages, and more research is needed before we can be sure that the mother’s diet can affect the baby’s tastes.
They tell me that babies can learn to taste salt early on. Is this true?
Although information is sparse, it does not appear that a high-salt diet in infancy predisposes babies to a preference for foods high in salt later in childhood.
Can you make some simple dietary recommendations that will ensure that my baby receives the right amount of salts? Yes!
- Healthy babies should be fed breast milk or commercially produced infant formulas for the first 12 months of life.
- Commercially prepared baby foods should be added to the diet at four to six months of age.
- As the transition is made after the first year of life to whole cow’s milk and table foods, avoid the regular intake of foods high in sodium content and add no extra table salt to foods to be fed to the baby.
- If your baby has unusual salt loss because of profuse sweating or diarrhea, consult your baby’s doctor about the advisability of temporarily increasing salt intake.
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