Important Message from The Joint Chiropractic regarding COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) - Read More

How Much Sodium is Your Child Eating?

By Sara Butler

You probably spend more than your fair share of time as a parent worrying about the things you feed your kids. Are they healthy? Are you instilling good habits? Are they getting enough nutrition? You don’t want to feed your children a bunch of stuff that isn’t good for them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9 out of 10 children get too much sodium in their diets. Here are a few favorites of little ones that have entirely too much sodium for anyone’s good!

How Much They Need

According to the American Heart Association children should not have more than 1500 milligrams of sodium per day. Do you want to take a guess how much the average American kid is consuming? About 3100 milligrams a day, if you can believe it!

That’s right, 9 out of 10 children in the United States are having more sodium per day than is recommended. One out of 6 kids has elevated blood pressure because of it. But don’t think the culprit is the coming out of your kitchen’s salt shaker. Most sodium comes from highly processed foods and restaurants. It’s a danger to your child’s overall health.

Cheese

Many children love cheese slices or string cheese as a snack, and parents like it for its convenience and a bone-healthy dose of calcium. But one stick of string cheese or one slice of cheese can have 200 to 300 milligrams of sodium – a fifth of what your child should have in a whole day!

Lunch Meat

Oven roasted turkey is a big hit in a lot of homes – ham too! But those processed deli meats have a lot of sodium. Two ounces of turkey can have up to 540 milligrams of sodium. When you add in the bread, you’re giving your kid half of the daily recommended amount of sodium in just one sandwich. If your kid loves cold cuts, try the low sodium type.

Hot Dogs

It’s probably no secret that hot dogs aren’t exactly good for your kids, but they may be worse than you think. One hot dog can have 500 milligrams of sodium – so make sure you keep an eye out by reading nutrition labels to see exactly how much sodium is contained in your child’s favorite hot dog brand.

What You Can Do

To keep an eye on how much sodium your child is getting per day all you need to do is take a look at the packaging. Look at the amount of sodium in any given item you plan on serving, and try to stay away from prepackaged and highly processed foods if you can. Even canned vegetables have added salt, so it always pays off to be diligent and pay attention to what’s in the food you buy for your kids.

Story Link

Download your offer today and save!

$29 New Patient Special, Consultation | Exam | Adjustment

Offer valued at $45. Valid for new patients only. See clinic for chiropractor(s)' name and license info. Clinics managed and/or owned by franchisee or Prof. Corps. Restrictions may apply to Medicare eligible patients. Individual results may vary.