Why Your Baby Doesn’t Need Added Salt Before 1 Year of Age

Babies under 1 need only around 1 gram of salt a day- that is a 1/4 teaspoon.

They are already getting salt from breastmilk and formula. Therefore, when they start solids they do not need extra salt added to their foods.

Having extra salt can be very taxing on a baby's stomach. Extra salt can lead to issues in the future such as high blood pressure, issues with calcium absorption, dehydration and other health concerns. Adding salt early on can also lead your baby to have a preference towards only salty foods.

If your baby has salt on occasion, don't worry about it, just don't add any to their foods. The concern actually arises from hidden salt in packaged foods. We also try and limit the use of foods that contain salt before the age of 1 such as breads, cheeses, sauces, store bought stock and packaged foods.

Post 1, they need around 2 grams of salt a day so it is okay to start adding a pinch of salt to their foods. Whole salt (unrefined) is actually essential for life and good health as it has around 80 absorbable micro-nutrients and is important for proper digestion.

Before that, focus on adding other seasonings to make their food flavorful.

Remember, they have never had food before- so use this window of 6-12 months to build their taste palette and teach them that food has different flavors and tastes. If they are rejecting food, it is not because of the lack of salt, but because of other reasons such as timings, mealtime environment etc..

To conclude, there is no actually study to show whether salt is good or bad for babies. So we just need to keep on the safe side and not add any salt to their foods intentionally before 1 year of age.