Lately I’ve noticed that toddlers and sodium has been in the spotlight in the news (example). I received a few emails asking about how much sodium I feed Hailey and to be honest, I didn’t know. I decided to look into it a little more. The American Heart Association suggests that children have no more than 1,500mg of sodium each day.
Eating too much sodium can contribute to a lifelong preference for saltier foods, resulting in excess strain on the kidneys and hypertension (high blood pressure) as a cumulative effect. Overall, it’s rough on the body and just not too for you.
I decided to try and get a frame of reference for Hailey’s intake, so I looked back on what she ate a month ago at 18 months old. (Sodium amounts determined using calorie count)
Breakfast
2 Egg- 140mg
1 Tbsp Jack’s Special Salsa- 52mg
1 Banana- 1mg
1/3 grapefruit- 0mg
Lunch 1
1/2 c barley- 3mg
1/2 c lentils- 2mg
1/4 c roasted carrots- 22mg
1 Tbsp Newmans Balsamic Dressing- 175mg
1 Chobani Champions Yogurt- 40mg
1/4 c frozen peas- 29mg
Snack
Happy Tot Pouch- 0mg
2 full Graham crackers- 140mg
Dinner
black bean burger- homemade, so I estimated using info for canned black beans that have been rinsed- 280mg
1/4 avocado- 2mg
1 Tbsp ketchup- 150mg
Other
16 ounces whole milk- 250mg
1,286mg sodium
She isn’t far from the American Heart Association recommended recommended limit of 1,500mg per day… and I felt like this day she ate pretty cleanly!
It really made me wonder where her sodium intake level would be if it had been a different day where we used more convenience foods or if she regularly ate foods that many kids eat on a day to day basis. Even without downing salty potato chips or sprinkling any table salt on your food, it wouldn’t take long to fly by 1,500mg without knowing it. How?
2 Tbsp Ranch = 260mg sodium
55 Goldfish = 250mg sodium
2 ounces deli turkey = 510mg sodium
It wouldn’t be unusual to see all three of the above items in one meal, which would cover over 2/3 of your child’s total sodium allotment. Crazy!
Even grabbing a seemingly healthy item can be deceiving…
1 cup (1/2 can) ravioli serving = 700mg sodium
So what is a health conscious parent to do? Here are some easy ideas for reducing sodium intake for toddlers AND adults.
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Fresh is best. Use fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and grains to prepare your own food at home.
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For convenience, use frozen vegetables and fruits (without sauces or syrups) instead of canned.
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Rinse canned beans to eliminate roughly 40% of the sodium.
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Eat at home. Restaurants, especially fast food, are in the business of making things taste good; they aren’t overly concerned with your health. They add excess butter and salt to appeal to our senses.
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Use fresh and dried herbs and spices to flavor food instead of salt or salt-based blends.
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Use condiments sparingly. It’s amazing how quickly the sodium in dips, sauces and dressings can add up.
Do you pay attention to sodium?
How do you ensure you limit your intake?
Beth @ Mangoes and Miles says
I try to limit sodium in the sense that if I have a meal that I know has a lot of sodium in it, I’ll be mindful and choose options with lower sodium for the rest of the day. Its scary how much sodium and chemicals is in kids’ foods (or even food on general, but esp. kids) these days!
Lindsay@Fuel My Family says
I worry mine don’t get enough sodium sometimes, I wonder if there’s a certain amount the body needs as a minimum? We don’t eat any prepackaged foods like cereals, crackers, breads. The only salt we get is what I add to our foods like homemade tortillas or roasted veggies, but I never measure. Maybe I should to get an idea of our sodium intake.
Neil Butterfield says
Very important to watch the sodium intake for children.
Michelle G. says
Yay! Thanks for doing this post! I was one of the ones that emailed you asking for a post on sodium. Lately, I have been very worried about the sodium that we give our 17-month old. We eat a lot of crockpot meals, so now I buy the low-sodium and “no salt added” versions of ingredients.
Now that I’ve started paying attention to it, I’ve been really shocked at how much sodium is in the stuff that is specifically marketed to kids, like the ravioli you pointed out above. blech…
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
I honestly DON’T pay attention to my sodium intake, but I think that’s because I follow so many of the suggestions made to limit it just naturally. However, if I were a mom, I can’t promise I wouldn’t want to occasionally (or not so occasionally) utilize convenience foods for my kids, and I’m sure that it would be EASY to get ‘up there’ in numbers. Just another reason I hope that if I’m ever a mom I am still super vigilant and conscious about my (and my kids) food choices.
Laura says
It’s kind of ironic that we pay attention to sodium in the exact opposite way. Because my little one had CF, he needs the sodium. In fact, we add table salt to every meal for him. A shake of the salt shaker in Greek yogurt, or a little salt in his milk bottle, for example. However, I probably should be paying closer attention to my older son’s diet. He’s not a fan of ketchup or ranch or canned convenience meals, but he does like deli meats and cheez-it’s and other crackers with lots of sodium in them!! Two opposite boys, diet-wise, when it comes to sodium!
Sarah says
I know you are just using that as an example and you don’t feed your daughter those products, but I thought it was worth pointing out that Hidden Valley Ranch contains Monosodium Glutamate. So, regardless of the sodium content, this neurotoxin would rule that out in my book!
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
I like Mrs. Dash seasonings which don’t contain salt! I haven’t watched my sodium intake too closely, but it’s crazy how many things can have sodium hidden inside!
Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie says
Wow, this is something I never even thought about! Thanks for sharing!