Are babies under the age of .....(fill in the blank) not able to process salt?

Sodium is one of the minerals found in human breast milk. An infant can easily process it in that form.

http://www.breastfeedingbasics.org/cgi-bin/deliver.cgi/content/Anatomy/com_minerals.html

Can I put salt in my baby’s food?

“There’s no need to add salt to your baby’s food. Babies need only a very small amount of salt: less than 1g (0.4g sodium) a day until they are 12 months. Your baby’s kidneys can’t cope with more salt than this.

Before your baby is six months old, he will get all the sodium he needs from breastmilk or infant formula milk.

Once your baby begins eating solid food, you don’t need to add any salt to home-cooked baby food or commercial baby food, even if you think it tastes bland.

Toddlers also need very little salt. After your baby’s first birthday, the daily recommended maximum amount of salt for him until he is three years old is 2g a day (0.8g sodium).

Be careful not to give your baby any pre-prepared foods that aren’t specially made for babies. Foods such as adult breakfast cereals and pasta sauces can be high in salt.”

Gosh, you have to have salt for proper nerve function.

Babies can’t handle much salt. They screwed up the formula in a hospital near us, getting way too much salt and they killed a bunch of the babies.

Here is what the UK’s National Health Service has to say on the matter;

“Babies and children only need a very small amount of salt in their diet. However, because salt is added to a lot of the food you buy, such as bread, baked beans, and even biscuits, it is easy to have too much.

“The maximum recommended amount of salt for babies and children is:

— up to 12 months – less than 1g of salt a day (less than 0.4g sodium)
— 1 to 3 years – 2g of salt a day (0.8g sodium)
— 4 to 6 years – 3g of salt a day (1.2g sodium)
— 7 to 10 years – 5g of salt a day (2g sodium)
— 11 years and over – 6g of salt a day (2.4g sodium)

“Babies who are breastfed get the right amount of salt through breast milk. Infant formula contains a similar amount of salt to breast milk.”

(Source)

Thank you all.
Someone was saying the kidney of children under 4 months old the can’t process salt at all.

Well, that’s not true. There is some salt in breast milk and in formula.

@Dutchess_III I was trying to find out where they got that from.

@Adirondackwannabe Did it make the news? If not it should have, that is horrid.

There is this article from 1962 where babies died from salt poisoning.

Dang it. It only lets you see part of it. Still looking.