Do you often reach for the salt shaker at restaurants? Chances are that your preference for salty food began when you were just a baby, snacking on Cheerios. A recent study suggests that giving babies sodium-rich foods, such as crackers, cereals and breads, might make them enjoy salt later in life -- more so than infants who were not as highly exposed.
The research, conducted at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, studied a sampling of 61 infants, first at two months and next at six. The babies were given three bottles with varying levels of sodium. Both times, the infant was allowed to drink from the three bottles for two minutes at a time. Sodium preference was calculated by how much the babies consumed of each solution. Twenty-six out of the 61 infants had been exposed to starchy, sodium-rich processed foods. During the taste test, the exposed infants drank 55 percent more salt than those not exposed.
Leslie J. Stein, Ph.D., a physiological psychologist at Monell, and lead author on the study, said that, "more and more evidence is showing us that the first months of life constitute a sensitive period for shaping flavor preferences."
A baby's preference for some types of flavors -- such as garlic, vanilla and mint -- may start even before birth. NPR reported that while babies are still in the womb they ingest several ounces of amniotic fluid each day. That fluid is flavored by what the mother has recently had to eat or drink and can influence the child's tastes.
Stein told the Los Angeles Times that "babies are born with a clear preference for sweet foods and an absolute distaste for bitter foods," but they seem to be indifferent to salt in their first months.
Later on in life, Americans consume an alarming amount of sodium. According to Health.com "the average person in the U.S. consumes 3,500 milligrams of sodium a day. That's equivalent to almost nine grams of salt, or nearly two teaspoonfuls -- way more than the 2,300 milligrams per day suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans." Not entirely a surprise, the majority of that intake is a result of the high levels of sodium in processed foods.