Let me deal with the popular one first, because it comes up constantly.

All types of salt are the same

There is no salt that is better than another type of salt. Your Himalayan pink salt is no better than your normal table salt.

They all have the same chemical composition, and it is still doing the same damage. Even the ones marketed on higher mineral content do not change this. You would have to consume enormous amounts to get any meaningful benefit from those minerals, and the salt itself would far outweigh any advantage.

So the switch to a fancier salt is not a health decision. It is a purchase.

Why salt matters for children specifically

High salt intakes can predispose children to the development of high blood pressure even from an early age, as well as osteoporosis, asthma, stomach cancer and obesity. It is a fairly alarming list.

Generally speaking, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity, we would all benefit from having less salt in our diets.

Salt preference is learned, which is good news

How salty we like a food is a learned preference. That means we can adjust our taste buds to enjoy less salt in the diet.

The earlier you adapt to a less salty taste, the less damage is done. This is one of the reasons it is worth doing in early childhood rather than leaving it. It also applies to the whole family, parents included.

This is why parents who worry that their child will reject plainer food at nursery usually find the opposite. Children do adapt quite quickly to new flavours, even when they are used to more heavily seasoned food at home.

Most of the salt is already in the food

Around 75 percent of the salt we get through our diets is, in a sense, hidden. It is already in foods, particularly processed foods, including things like bread and breakfast cereals.

Those are still good things for children to have. I am not saying avoid them. Foods like cheese and fish also naturally contain salt.

The point is that the majority of the salt you need is already within these foods, so you should not be adding more on top.

The higher salt foods to be aware of

• Processed meats, which we should all really be trying to avoid.
• Stocks.
• Pizza.
• Ready meals.
• Crisps.

These will have salt added, so it is worth being aware of them rather than assuming a meal is low salt because you did not season it.

Practical ways to reduce it

• Make your own stock, or use salt free stock cubes.
• Do not add salt to the water for cooking potatoes, pasta, rice or dal.
• Avoid adding salt to meat dishes.
• Limit processed, smoked or cured foods.
• Use lower salt versions of salty condiments, and use them very minimally.
• Cook at home where you can, because it is easier to control what goes in.
• Check nutrition labels, move away from anything marked red or high in salt, and choose lower amounts.

How we handle it in our meals

The meals we make have no added salt and no added sugar. Rather than adding either, we impart flavour using different cooking techniques, along with herbs and spices, to create meals children actually want to eat.

We taste test rigorously and always look for feedback, because food with no added salt still has to taste good or none of this works.

The simple version

Do not add salt to food. Be aware that some foods are high in salt anyway. Choose lower salt versions where you can. And do not pay extra for a salt that claims to be healthier, because it is not.