Almost all children like packaged snacks that have a savory and delicious taste. However, do you know how much sodium is contained in one snack package? The sodium content in light packaged foods can exceed the daily needs of your child.
If left unchecked, your child can experience a variety of certain health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke when entering adulthood. Not only from snacks, there are many sources of sodium that you don't realize are harmful to your little one.
Then, how to monitor sodium intake in children so as not to overdo it?
Tips for monitoring sodium content in children's food
Based on reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in America, it is known that there are more than 2,100 children aged 6 to 18 years consuming foods that contain excessive sodium. In fact, they consume an average of 3,256 mg of sodium every day. Even though the recommended dosage is only 1,200 to 1,500 mg sodium per day.
To monitor the child's sodium intake again, the role of parents is needed, namely paying attention to the sodium content in children's food. It's easy, follow the steps below.
Choose homemade food
Packaged or processed foods, tend to contain higher sodium. For that, you need to limit this food. Sausages, smoked meat, nuggets, shredded meat, or other foods that you often serve as meals or food menus, you can replace with homemade meat. Besides being able to reduce the amount of salt, homemade food is free from preservatives.
Then, don't buy junk food too often or eat outdoors. Although practical, the savory foods you order tend to definitely contain lots of sodium. So, rearrange the schedule of eating outside the home.
Read the packaging label
Children's favorite snack foods, such as potato chips, corn chips, or other salty snacks may be consumed by children. However, before buying, read always the nutrition label on the package. Find out and choose which sodium content is less.
Remember to buy not too much. Especially to keep a stock of salty snacks in the refrigerator. Children certainly can eat these snacks quietly. So, don't obey the child's willingness to buy lots of salty snacks. Just buy one or two packs, but combine with other healthy snacks, such as yogurt, milk, pudding, or whole wheat crackers.
Reduce salt, add spices
The advantage of making your own food is that you mix the spices and spices you want. To reduce excessive sodium intake in food, you certainly need to reduce the use of garama in dishes.
Don't worry, even though salt is reduced, it will still taste good if you use more herbs, such as garlic, onion, pepper, lemongrass, orange leaves, and other herbs.
Get used to eating low-salt foods
Undergo a low-salt diet to really need to be accustomed to. The sooner you apply this healthy diet, the better the results will be on your child's health. Accustomed to eating low-salt foods can reduce children's desire for salty snacks or other salty foods.
Consultation of a nutritionist
Consult your doctor first before you apply a low salt diet for your little one. Then, routinely check the health and adequacy of child nutrition for nutritionists. You can ask further about the intake of other nutrients that are good for children.