Do Nephritis Patients Have to Avoid Salt?

Do Nephritis Patients Have to Avoid Salt?
Many nephritis patients never eat salt because they think non-salt diet can make them recovery soon. But the truth is that they should not avoid eating salt. To make this point clear, we have to understand that salt is a necessary substance for human body. Without salt(sodium chloride),food will lose its flavor and human body would be influenced negatively. People would always feel tired and in low mood if they never eat salt for a period of time. It is very important to control intake of salt if one suffers from nephritis. Sodium ions mainly exist in the body fluid in cells.it isalso the main component of extracellular LCD osmotic pressure. It is important for the body liquid balance of between inside and outside cells or organism. Generally, when sodium in body fluidincrease, the water deposit would increase too. Then excretion of water and sodium would increase through physiological effect to keep balance of sodium in body.
It is alright for nephritis patients to take low-salt or ordinary food. But once enema or hypertension appear, it is time to limit the intake of salt. Because when there is something wrong with kidney, the kidney’s regulatory function and excretory function for sodium would be influenced. Blood sodium and water retention would increase which would worsen edema and hypertension. So depends on different condition, patients’ diet can be classified into:
1 ordinary diet: if the nephritis patients don’t suffer form edema or hypertension, or edema and hypertension are cured without recurrence, it is not necessary for patients forbid eating salt strictly. But the amount should be limited. They can eat more fruit and vegetable.
2 low-salt diet: it is suitable for patients who suffer mild edema or hypertension or these symptoms just subside. For example, patients in the convalescence of CKD, acute nephritis and nephrotic syndrome, or CKD patients without edema or hypertension can choose low-diet diet. The amount of intake is 3g-5g per day. So the patients should avoid eating pickle, fermented bean curd, salted meat and so on.
3 salt-free food: nephritis patients with obvious edema and severe hypertension should not eat salt at all. For example , patients in early stage of acute nephritis, acute attack stage of CKD, or patients suffer primary nephrotic syndrome or CRF with serious edema and hypertension should take salt-free diet. But diet without salt would lose its flavor. So we can use salt-free soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger and garlic to stimulate patients’ appetite. Whether the patients can eat salt depends on symptom of edema and hypertension. If the symptoms vanish, the patients can take low-salt diet.