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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsToddler meals swimming in salt
(CNN) Most packaged meals and snacks marketed to toddlers have more than the recommended amount of sodium per serving, meaning children as young as one are most likely eating far too much salt early in life, according to one of several studies on sodium presented this week.
The studies were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.
The findings were alarming to researchers since there is evidence a child's sodium intake is related to the likelihood that he or she will develop hypertension as an adult. Hypertension is a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease and the number-one killer of men and women in the United States.
"The good news is that commercial foods for babies, when they start complimentary feeding from 4 to 12 months ... are relatively low in sodium," explains Joyce Maalouf, the study's lead author and a fellow at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/21/meals-and-snacks-for-toddlers-heavy-in-sodium/
Cirque du So-What
(25,808 posts)I believe a big reason for addition of all that salt is so that it tastes good to the parents who often perform their own taste-test before feeding it to their children. The parents may fail, however, to realize that toddlers' taste buds are not so well-developed and, besides, have no preference for highly-salted foods - a taste that is developed over the years.
R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)I've seen kids younger than her with lollipops stuck in their mouths, and I just have to shake my head.
Salt and sugar are definitely two things we avoid in moderation.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)Tempest
(14,591 posts)Salt is used in high concentrations in pre-packaged and canned meals because it's a preservative and cheap.
Companies learned a long time ago their products last longer the more salt they added.
Cirque du So-What
(25,808 posts)Why don't you just come right out and call me fucking stoopid?
Since 1994, Gerber has added modest amounts of sugar and or salt to some of its third-stage fruits and vegetables (and other products). Two third-stage vegetables--carrots and squash--now contain added sugar. It appears that the sugar does not replace any vegetable, but is added to it, thereby increasing calories without also increasing the nutrient content. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that salt not be added to baby foods, six of Gerber's seven third-stage vegetables now contain small amounts of added salt. The sugar and salt may serve to mask off-flavors and/or enhance desired flavors in the heavily processed foods.
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/cheat1.html
If you can't refrain from replying to me without using insulting terms, then we're done. Would you say such a thing to my face?
Tempest
(14,591 posts)The article is about preprocessed foods where taste is rarely the objective and certainly not about a parent's taste. And did you catch the preceding word "MAY" in your cite? Salt as a preservative in prepackaged and canned food is well documented. Including the way companies increased the amount of salt until they found a level acceptable to consumers.
"Why don't you just come right out and call me fucking stoopid? "
Because there's a huge difference between being nonsensical and being stupid (although your spelling of the word gives me pause).
"Would you say such a thing to my face? "
Absolutely. Ask anyone who knows me.
Lex
(34,108 posts)Get over yourself.
Cirque du So-What
(25,808 posts)why are there thousands of articles from pediatricians and public-health agencies recommending that parents don't add salt until it satisfies their tastes?
https://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_rn=7&gs_ri=psy-ab&gs_mss=%22baby%20food%22%20%22added%20salt%22%20&tok=XkUBfumqCY3vBuDdfwBBbA&pq=%22baby%20food%22%20%22added%20salt%22%20%22tastes%20good%20to%20parents%22&cp=38&gs_id=6oi&xhr=t&q=%22baby+food%22+%22added+salt%22+parents+taste&es_nrs=true&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=%22baby+food%22+%22added+salt%22+parents+taste&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.44158598,d.aWM&fp=409bf449c9f7a529&biw=1787&bih=932
BTW, I know how 'stupid' is spelled; my spelling was merely to emphasize the 'oo' sound within the word.
If you're so confrontational that you would toss around terms like 'nonsense' right to people's faces, I suspect that some may cross the street when they see you coming.
Lex
(34,108 posts)to make up for how they feel in real life.
Cirque du So-What
(25,808 posts)I am 'blessed' with only knowing a couple of them, and you can believe me that I go to great lengths to avoid those people like the fucking plague - and I'm hardly alone in my sentiment. I recall one occasion when a group of us were talking and someone spotted 'the mouth' barreling down upon us, pulling six pounds of foreskin down to his neck in preparation for spitting chunks of smegma into polite conversation. We scattered so swiftly that a casual observer would think a hand grenade had just been tossed into our midst.
Lex
(34,108 posts)We adults have acquired a taste for salt and we do a taste-test on food we give our kids to see if it tastes good, just as Cirque said.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)I just started seasoning at the table, and used a blender, then a food processor to "moosh up" whatever I cooked for us.. They had NO trouble adapting to grown up foods like so many of my friends' kids did..
I did cheat sometimes & use the baby rice cereal
As soon as they were old enough, they each had their very own rows in the garden & loved eating THEIR veggies.. They screamed bloody murder when someone ate the "wrong" tomatoes or beans or carrots. Some days their preferred lunch was fresh from the garden.....sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon... a little cheese & unsweetened iced tea.. They all grew up just fine..
oops, I lied.. I DID buy "Blueberry Buckle", but my husband & I used it for topping on OUR ice cream,,, this was back in the 70's when it was YUMMY !!!!