The Diet for Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome

Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome often complicate with gastrointestinal swelling and ascetic fluid, which is affecting digestive absorption, they should eat some digestive and slight diet.Due to kidney damage, patients will lose a large amount of protein, and the body will keep protein malnutrition state. Currently, the diet food should be high quality, and the standard is 0.8-1.0g/d/kg. Because most of patients with Nephrotic Syndrome have hyperlipidemia, the animal fate should be limited. Patients with severe edema should limit salt intake, the standard is less than 3g/d, and complement trace element.

The tips for patients’ diet with Nephrotic Syndrome:
1. Sodium salt intake: patients with swelling should have a low salt diet, in order to avoid worsening the swelling. Commonly, the standard of salt intake is 2g/d. patients must not eat salted products, and eat less monosodium glutamate and food base. When the swelling is degrading and plasma protein is close to normality, patients can get back to normal diet.
2. Protein intake：When people have nephritic syndrome, large amounts of plasma are removed into the urine, protein in the body is decreasing and in the malnutrition status. Low protein will make plasma oncotic pressure decreasing, and leads to stubborn swelling, and the body resistance is reducing. So when people have no renal failure, they should be given high quality protein diet (0.8-1.0 g/kg.d), such as fish and animal meat, which is helpful to relieve hypoproteinemia and its complications. When the urine protein becomes negative and plasma protein is normal, patients can have a low protein diet with high quality.
3. Lipid intake: patients with nephritic syndrome often have hyperlipidemia which will result in arteriosclerosis and glomerular lesion and sclerosis. So patients should limit cholesterol and lipid intake, such as animals’ organs, fat meat, and some seafood.

4. Trace elements supplement. Due to basement membrane permeability for patients with nephritic syndrome increasing, in addition to lose large amounts of protein in urine, patients will lose some trace elements and steroid, which will make calcium, magnesium, zinc, Ferrum insufficient. So patients should supply some trace elements. Commonly vegetables, fruits, field crop and marine products which contain rich vitamin and trace elements are recommended.