Added salt avoidance for infants aged 6 to 12 months
What it found
The kidneys of infants aged 6 to 12 months can handle sodium, and there is not enough evidence that high salt early in life leads to high blood pressure or a liking for salty food later.
Too little sodium, as low as 150 to 300 mg a day, may not meet an infant's needs if their food is not salted enough.
What they found
Studies in people
Kidney sodium handling
The kidneys of infants aged 6 to 12 months have enough capacity to pass out sodium.
Risk of low sodium
Infants aged 6 to 12 months may get only 150 to 300 mg of sodium a day if their supplementary food is not salted enough, which may not meet the body's needs.
Studies in people and animals
High salt and later health
There is not enough evidence that high salt intake early in life leads to high blood pressure or a preference for salty food in adults.
What the authors conclude
“There is insufficient evidence that high salt (sodium) intake early in life might lead to hypertension or salty diet preference in adults.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the reason for no added salt lacks enough and reliable evidence.
- They note that infants aged 6 to 12 months might be at risk of low sodium intake if their supplementary food is not adequately salted.
How it was done
Most nutrition guidelines recommend avoiding foods with added salt for infants aged 6 to 12 months, but the authors say the reason for this lacks enough reliable evidence.
The authors searched PubMed and the Cochrane database for English-language studies published from 1904 through 2021. They also searched websites of different national institutions. They included randomised clinical trials, systematic reviews, observational studies and dietary guidelines.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of existing studies, so it cannot prove cause and effect.
- The evidence on high salt early in life and later high blood pressure or salty food preference is not enough to draw firm conclusions.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China
The paper
- Title
- Avoidance of added salt for 6-12-month-old infants: A narrative review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Yang S, Wang H (2023). Avoidance of added salt for 6-12-month-old infants: A narrative review. Archives de pediatrie. doi:10.1016/j.arcped.2023.08.009PubMed 37805298DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error