Are Your Children Getting Too Much Sodium?

Experts are saying that kids need to seriously reduce salt from their diets.  Take a look at what you are feeding them…chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, crackers.  We’re setting them up for a lifetime of health conditions and disease. 

Remember that kids are a smaller version of us, so they need a lot less sodium in their diets than we do.  But are our kids getting too much of it?  According to the CDC, 90 per cent of children have 1,000 more milligrams of sodium than they should be having.

Here are some things that come with too much sodium…high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.  Actually, high blood pressure is showing up in kids earlier and earlier all the time.  The CDC reports that 1 in 6 children between 8 and 17, already have elevated blood pressure.

One of the major sources of sodium that parents aren’t paying attention to are the processed and packaged foods they’re dishing out. In fact, 43 percent of sodium comes from just a few foods, including pizza, cold cuts and cheese, a survey by the CDC found.

Portion sizes are out of control too, both at home and in restaurants, so kids are being served double, even triple the amount of sodium for their age. Plus, if they’re downing potato chips, crackers, or nuts from a bag, it might look like a single serving, but in reality, it could be much more.

Although the school lunch guidelines now call for less sodium and there are plans to scale back up to 50 percent by the year 2022, for now, it’s still making its way into the lunch line.
Children ages 1 to 3 should have no more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium a day; for ages 4 to 8, 1,200 milligrams and for kids ages 9 to 18, 1,500 milligrams. Here are some ways to cut down your child’s sodium intake.

1. Offer more fruits and vegetables – They’re all over the place.  Check local farmer’s markets
2. Read labels – Once again, kids should have no more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per day
3. Be wary of “low” or “reduced sodium.” – Are they really?
4. Experiment with flavor – Maybe that pork chop doesn’t need salt.
5. Make small changes
6. Ask questions
7. Be a role model – Practice what you preach.