SalTrax Blog

Did you know . . . children don't automatically salt their food or request salty foods - they learn to eat salty foods because that is what we give them!

Although there are no specific sodium limits for children, it is very important for them to learn good nutrition habits (and learn to eat less sodium) early on so that they develop good behaviors for life. However, it is difficult for a working parent or caretaker of children, or any parent or caretaker for that matter, to cook a healthy meal in our fast-paced society. That's why it is so important to change our environment, because over 75 percent of our sodium intake comes from packaged, processed and restaurant foods. It's nearly impossible for individuals or families to lower their sodium intake without the help of the food producers and restaurant owners.

So what is a busy parent or caretaker to do? Here are some suggestions:

*Serve plain, simple and fresh foods as much as you can - especially fruit and vegetables.

*Find, or ask your store to carry, lower sodium versions of soups and prepared foods.

*If your child asks for a particular brand because of seeing a commercial, buy it once and refill it with the lower-sodium, healthier version. Some children may not ever know there was a switch and may like the lower-sodium, healthier version better.

*Cook large batches of soups and entrees on the weekend and then freeze smaller portions to serve during the week.

*Teach the SalTrax easy-to-use system to the entire family from a young age - kids learn it very quickly and love to use their new skills with confidence.

*Please e-mail me at srpark@SalTrax.com with any other helpful suggestions

One more thing . . . if you are a Mom, Dad, or caretaker with young children, please bring this subject up with other parents / caretakers. If all of us band together and put pressure on the food manufacturers to lower the sodium (as well as sugar and fat) in kids foods - the food makers and preparers would have to respond! Very soon, the food manufacturers will have to stop advertising these unhealthy foods during the time children watch TV (Kellogg's has already committed to doing this). Make your voice heard; your child's future health depends on it!