Salt shakes kids’ health
Wednesday’s Vegan Kids: It’s easy to let too much salt creep into our kids’ daily diets without even noticing. Too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure and obesity, even in childhood. But more than that, kids who eat a high sodium diet may expect all food to taste unnaturally highly flavored, thereby predisposing them to want all the foods that are high in salt (like fast food, chips and other junk foods) and to dislike milder flavored, natural foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies.
Here are some simple ways to help your child avoid salt:
- When you cook, use low-sodium veggie stock and low-sodium soy sauce.
- Rinse canned beans, and cook with dried beans as much as possible.
- Buy natural, no salt added peanut butter.
- Choose low-sodium canned soups.
- Eliminate potato chips and other salty snacks from your child’s daily food choices.
When you do use salt, choose iodized salt because iodine is essential to your child’s health. Salt doesn’t have to be a complete no-no for kids — let’s be real, we all like some salty popcorn or a shake or two on some steamed veggies every now and again. Just be aware that too much of a good thing like salt can shake our children’s health and, with all of the low-sodium products on the market today, it’s an easy hazard to avoid.
Blog post adapted from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids. (Photo: iStockphoto.com)
