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Salt - would you like any dinner with that?!

jenniferjj

Hello,

My son is 9 and diagnosed with ADHD and Autism.  The range of foods he'll eat is fine but he has to have a huge amount of salt on everything he eats.  I'm guessing it's a sensory thing for the intensity of flavour but I'm worried that the amount he's having will have an impact on his health.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so did you find a way to compensate?

Thanks in advance...

Jen

  • I've got a bit of a craving for salt and salty foods aswell, I don't think I use ridiculous amounts of it and it doesn't seem to have affected my health at all, but people do sometimes remark about the amount of salt I use.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Salt in normal quantities is essential but salt can actually be posionous/fatal if you take enough of it. There are occasional cases of parents being prosecuted for poisoning their children by forcing too much salt into their food.

    http://www.poison.org/articles/2013-sep/sodium-too-much-of-a-good-thing

    I think that you need to make sure that he is only taking a sensible amount in his diet.

  • Interesting. I've been a salt fanatic all my life. People comment on how much I use, but I too have never associated it with my condition, but then I didn't know I had one until recently!

    When I was small, I used to take a sherry glass, put a pile of salt in, fill it with vinegar and drink the mixture, slowly, and with great relish. To this day I can leave sweet things alone in preference for savoury, and I prefer my fish and chips floating in salt and vinegar.

    Anyone else have the same 'thing'?

  • Very little research has been done on the physiology of autistic people. Its possible that we need a higher salt intake to function properly or are not as badly affected by higher intakes as the general population. We do have higher levels of cortisol and that must have some effect on the operation of our kidneys, which are responsible for salt balance.

    I put masses of salt on everything too and adore things like anchovies. Maybe just make sure your son drinks plenty of water. 56 years on, I'm fit as a flea and my blood pressure is at the low end of normal.

  • Interesting.  Thought that was just me, never associated it with autism.  If you find a solution please post it as it probably isn't doing me any good either (no heart/BP issues so far in my 37 years).