What are the dietary precautions for nephritis?

There are many things to pay attention to in the diet of patients with nephritis. For example, you must pay attention to limiting protein intake, especially during the acute onset of the disease. You must also eat a low-salt and low-sodium diet, and limit the intake of high-potassium foods, such as leeks, celery, cauliflower, etc. These foods are rich in potassium, so eat less of them.

(1) Restrict protein: 3 to 6 days after the onset of acute glomerulonephritis, the glomerular filtration rate decreases, resulting in transient azotemia. Therefore, protein diet should be restricted. Within the restricted range, efforts should be made to choose high-quality protein foods, such as milk, eggs, lean meat, fish, etc. When the condition improves and the urine volume increases, the daily urine volume is >1000 ml, you can start to gradually increase the amount of protein, but it should not exceed 0.8 g/kg body weight per day. For a low-protein diet, the daily protein should be 30 g to 40 g, less than 0.5 g per kilogram of body weight. Only after the condition has stabilized for 2 to 3 months can the normal intake be gradually restored.

(2) Low-salt and low-sodium diet: Patients with edema and hypertension should adopt a low-salt, salt-free or low-sodium diet. A low-salt diet generally uses less than 3 grams of table salt or 10 to 15 milliliters of soy sauce per day. Foods with high salt content should be avoided, such as pickles, kimchi, salted eggs, preserved eggs, cured meats, seafood, salty noodles, and so on. A salt-free diet means not adding salt and soy sauce during cooking. In addition to avoiding the above-mentioned foods with high salt content, you can use sugar, vinegar, sesame paste, and tomato sauce for seasoning. A low-sodium diet means not adding salt and soy sauce during cooking. Foods and vegetables with high sodium content should also be limited, such as steamed bread, cakes, biscuits, noodles, etc. made with baking powder or alkali. Vegetables with sodium content of 100 mg/100 g or more should be consumed. The sodium content in the whole day's diet should not exceed 500 mg.

(3) Limit high-potassium foods: When oliguria, anuria or elevated blood potassium occurs, limit the intake of potassium-rich vegetables and fruits, such as soybean sprouts, leeks, green garlic, celery, cauliflower, Chinese toon, spinach, winter bamboo shoots, spring bamboo shoots, lilies, dried red dates, fresh mushrooms, seaweed, mustard tuber, Sichuan winter vegetables, magnolia slices, shiitake mushrooms, apricots, lotus roots, sorghum, corn, lentils, tomatoes, loofah, bitter melon, etc.

(4) Limit fluid intake: Fluid intake should be controlled based on daily urine output. The general method of replenishment is to consume an additional 500 ml to 1000 ml of fluid in addition to the urine volume excreted the previous day. If the urine volume is low or accompanied by edema, the daily fluid intake should not exceed 1000 ml.