Q: Salam and morning doctors, may i know the age that we (parents) can start to intro salt and sugar in baby foods? (Nor)
A: Thank you for the question.
There is no age recommendation to start salt intake. Salt, in the form of sodium, chloride and potassium is vital in the normal functioning of the body. Breast milk also contains salt in the form of these electrolytes to maintain normal functioning of the body.
However excess salt can cause serious problems to the body. The immature kidney cannot process excess salt to be eliminated into the urine. It will remain in the blood stream causing imbalance of the body function that can later cause the child to be unwell, having high blood pressure or seizures.
The recommended daily intake of salt differs according to age. Since the kidney is immature in the infancy period and gets gradually mature over time, the amount of salt recommended increases with age. This is the recommendation:
Less than 1 year: 1g/day
1 – 3 years: 2g/day
4 – 6 years: 3g/day
7 – 10 years: 5g/day
11 years above: 6g/day
Infants below 1 year old should not have excess salt in their diet since breast milk and formula milk already has the adequate amount of salt in them. It is therefore recommended not to use chicken stock or other flavouring or additives that may contain excess salt in them into the baby’s food.
With regards to sugar, it is also important for the normal function of the body. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that provides energy to the body. There are many types of sugar but are generally classified as simple or complex sugars. Simple sugars such as glucose, fructose and galactose are the ones that are absorb in the body to provide energy. Excess of these sugars are converted to glycogen and stored in the liver. However when there is too much of sugars, the body cannot cope to store it and will start to eliminate it through the kidneys. The body tissue will become resistant to this high sugar state and will no more absorb and utilize it. Later these excesses are converted to fat.
( answered by Dr Aznor Fadly )
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Salam doktor. Saya risaukan anak saya yang berumur 2 tahun 10bulan masih belum boleh bercakap menggunakan 2 ayat. Contohnya, kalau dia nak air, dia akan cakap “air, air”, nak tidur dia cakap”tuk, tuk”. Dia faham arahan, tetapi dia selalu mudah mengamuk iaitu akan terbaring di lantai apabila dilarang berbuat sesuatu atau bila keinginan tidak dipenuhi. Dia aktif dan kebolehan fizikalnya lebih cepat seperti sudah boleh sedikit menulis abc, melukis. Dia suka kalau kami membaca buku cerita padanya, dia akan diam dan fokus tapi dia tidak tahu untuk respon apa2 terhadap cerita tersebut. Jadi kami tak boleh mengetahui setakat mana kefahamannya. Doktor, adakah ini normal atau pun tidak. Apakah tindakan yang kami perlu buat untuk masalah ini doktor?
Puan, dia perlukan pemeriksaan lanjut dan terapi percakapan. Dapatkan surat rujukan dari klinik swasta atau klinik kesihatan untuk dapatkan appoinment di klinik pediatrik hospital kerajaan. Selepas pemeriksaan, doktor akan dapatkan ujian pendengaran dahulu dan nanti terapi percakapan akan dimulakan. Usah risau tapi dapatkan appoinment ye.
Thanks for your answer doctor.