Salt and sugar for babies

The short version

• No added salt in your baby’s food or cooking water, and no stock cubes or gravy (NHS).
• No added sugar or sweeteners, including honey and syrups, up to age 4 (US Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030, NHS).
• No honey before 12 months, for a separate reason: see honey and infant botulism.

Natural sugars in fruit, plain milk and plain yogurt are fine. The concern is salt and sugar that are added, and foods that are salty or sweet because of how they’re made.

Salt: how much by age

The NHS gives these daily maximums for salt. They include the salt already in foods like bread, cheese and cereal, not just salt you add.

• Under 1 year: less than 1 g of salt a day
• 1 to 3 years: no more than 2 g a day
• 4 to 6 years: no more than 3 g a day
• Adults: no more than 6 g a day (about 1 level teaspoon)

There’s no need to add salt: the NHS says most foods already contain enough. It explains that babies’ kidneys aren’t fully developed and can’t process much salt. Too much salt can also build a taste for salty food, which the US Dietary Guidelines note may start early in life.

Salt or sodium? UK labels list salt; US labels list sodium. To compare, 1 g of sodium is about 2.5 g of salt (NHS food labels).

Salty foods to limit

Most salt in a family’s diet is already in the food when it’s bought. The NHS and CDC suggest limiting these for babies and toddlers:

• bacon, sausages, ham, hot dogs and lunch meats
• crackers, crisps (chips) and salted fries
• ready meals, frozen dinners and takeaways
• stock cubes, gravy and many sauces, like soy sauce and ketchup
• some canned foods: choose “no salt added” or “low sodium” versions, and vegetables or beans canned in water instead of brine
• some toddler snacks and packaged toddler foods: the CDC says to check the label

Cheese is a good food for babies, but some kinds are salty. The NHS suggests choosing lower-salt options.

Cooking for the family without salt

You don’t need to cook separate meals. Make the family dish without salt, take out your baby’s portion, then season the rest at the table.

• Flavor with mild herbs and spices instead of salt. The NHS’s baby recipes use them from 6 months, and its general salt advice suggests herbs, spices, garlic or lemon juice instead of salt. The AAP is more cautious and says fresh foods for babies should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning, so keep flavors mild and avoid salty spice blends.
• Use homemade stock, or water, instead of stock cubes.
• Steam or roast vegetables like broccoli to bring out their flavor without salt.
• Check the label on bread, cereal and cheese, and pick lower-salt options when you can.

Sugar: none added up to age 4

The newest US Dietary Guidelines (2025–2030) say to avoid added sugars from birth to age 4, and that no amount of added sugar is recommended from 5 to 10 either. The CDC says no amount of added sugar or low- or no-calorie sweetener is recommended as part of a healthy diet. The NHS says to avoid food and drink with sugar or sweeteners, including honey and syrup, for children aged 4 or younger. Babies and toddlers need a lot of nutrients for their size and eat only small amounts, so there’s no room for empty calories.

Sweet foods early on can also shape taste: babies given very sweet foods may come to prefer them.

An older AAP page still gives a limit of less than 25 g (about 6 teaspoons) of added sugar a day from age 2. The newer US guidelines are stricter, so aim for none up to age 4.

Where added sugar hides

Added sugar goes by many names on ingredient lists. The AAP lists brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, malt syrup, maltose, molasses and sucrose, among others.

Common sources for babies and toddlers include:

• flavored yogurts (choose plain, full-fat yogurt instead)
• muffins, cookies, cakes and biscuits
• sweetened breakfast cereals
• juice drinks, flavored milk, soda and sports drinks
• ketchup, baked beans and dried cranberries, which the AAP notes often have sugar added

Read the Nutrition Facts label: many US labels now show “added sugars” on their own line.

Natural sweetness is fine

Whole fruit is a good food at every age, and the NHS confirms that eating fruit is OK. To sweeten porridge or plain yogurt, mash in ripe banana or soft cooked fruit. The NHS also suggests cooking harder fruits like apple and pear without adding sugar.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Fruit juice is a source of sugar even when it’s 100% juice. See juice for babies.
• Dried fruit is sticky and sugary, so the NHS suggests serving it with meals rather than as a snack, to protect teeth. Cut it into small pieces or cook it soft: whole raisins and other dried fruit are a choking risk (see choking hazards).
• Maple syrup, agave and other syrups are added sugars too.

Where US and UK advice differs

Both sides agree on no added salt or sugar for babies. The details differ a little:

• Salt limits for toddlers. The NHS limit for 1 to 3 years is 2 g of salt a day (about 800 mg of sodium). The US Dietary Guidelines set 1,200 mg of sodium a day (about 3 g of salt) for children aged 12 to 23 months.
• How long to avoid sugar. The US Dietary Guidelines (2025–2030) and the NHS now agree: avoid added sugar up to age 4. The NHS also names honey, syrup, fruit juice and smoothies. An older AAP page still says no added sugar before age 2, then less than 25 g a day.
• Seasoning. The NHS’s baby recipes use mild herbs and spices from 6 months, and its general salt advice suggests them instead of salt. The AAP says fresh foods for babies should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning.

Either way, the practical advice is the same: cook from plain ingredients, check labels, and offer water and plain milk to drink.