Nutrition for Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

Nutritional requirements for a child with nephrotic syndrome

Children with nephrotic syndrome may have trouble regulating their body's water balance. This can cause fluid retention (edema). The diet for a child with nephrotic syndrome may include salt (sodium) and fluid restriction. These restrictions in the diet may help to regulate your child's fluid balance. Any food that is liquid at room temperature counts as a fluid. This includes the following:

  • Milk, water, juice, soda, and other drinks
  • Ice cubes
  • Ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt
  • Popsicles
  • Gelatin
  • Soup
  • Pudding

Helpful hints for restricting your child's fluid intake

Your child's doctor will discuss with you how much fluid your child should have on a daily basis based on your child's medical condition. The following recommendations may help with effectively monitoring and restricting your child's fluid intake. Talk to your child's doctor for more information.

  • Identify the amount of fluid your child's favorite glass or cup holds so that you do not have to measure fluids every time. Try using small glasses. Small amounts of fluid in a big glass look like less than small amounts of fluid in a small glass.
  • Keep track of how much fluid your child drinks each day. Record amounts on a chart by the refrigerator or another convenient place.
  • Avoid salty foods, as they increase thirst.
  • Iced tea and lemonade quench thirst better than soda.
  • Frozen pieces of fruit (melon, berries, grapes) can help quench thirst.
  • Chewing gum or hard candy can help to quench thirst.
  • Have your child rinse their mouth with cold water, but not swallow it.
  • Sucking on a lemon wedge can stimulate saliva and moisten the mouth.
  • Splashing cold water on your child's face and body can help them cool off.
  • Staying out of the sun can help keep your child from becoming thirsty on a hot day.

Helpful fluid conversions

Your child's doctor or dietitian will advise you on how much fluid your child may have each day. This amount is usually given in ounces (oz), cups, or cubic centimeters (cc).

1 oz = 30 cc

1 cup = 8 oz = 240 cc

1 pint = 2 cups = 16 oz = 480 cc

1 quart = 4 cups = 32 oz = 960 cc

1 tablespoon = 1/2 oz = 15 cc

1 teaspoon = 5 cc

Following a low-sodium diet

A low-sodium or salt-restricted diet may be used to help prevent or reduce fluid retention in your child's body. The amount of sodium allowed in your child's diet depends on your child's medical condition. Your child's doctor or dietitian will determine how much sodium your child can have. This is usually expressed in milligrams (mg) per day. Some common sodium restrictions include 1,500 to 2,000 mg per day. Sodium intake for your child will often be based on their weight. With most low-sodium diets, high-sodium foods are limited. Salt is not allowed in food preparation or at the table.

What foods are high in sodium?

The following foods are high in sodium. Your child should not eat them if they have been prescribed a low-sodium diet:

  • Most canned foods (vegetables, meats, pasta meals)
  • Processed foods (meats, such as bologna, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs, and sausage)
  • Cheese
  • Dried pasta and rice mixes
  • Most soups (canned and dried)
  • Snack foods (chips, popcorn, pretzels, cheese puffs, salted nuts)
  • Dips, sauces, and salad dressings

You can often find low-sodium versions of different foods to use in place of the higher-sodium varieties.

What foods are low in sodium?

  • Plain breads, cereals, rice, and pasta (not dried pasta or rice mixes)
  • Vegetables and fruits (fresh or frozen)
  • Meats (fresh cuts, not processed meats)
  • Milk and yogurt (these tend to be moderate in sodium)
  • Drinks such as juices, tea, fruit drink or punch, and some soda (sports drinks have sodium so these may need to be limited)

What are low-sodium seasonings?

The following are considered low-sodium seasonings and don't need to be restricted:

  • Allspice
  • Bay leaf
  • Basil
  • Chili powder
  • Chives
  • Cinnamon
  • Cloves
  • Curry powder
  • Dill
  • Extracts (vanilla)
  • Vinegar
  • Garlic (fresh)
  • Garlic powder
  • Ginger
  • Horseradish sauce
  • Lemon juice
  • Lime juice
  • Mace
  • Marjoram
  • Dry mustard
  • Nutmeg
  • Onion (fresh)
  • Onion powder
  • Oregano
  • Paprika
  • Pepper
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Salt substitutes
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme
  • Tabasco

What seasonings are high in sodium?

The following seasonings are high in sodium, but may be used in limited amounts, in most cases.

Limit the following seasonings to 1 tablespoon per meal:

  • Barbecue sauce
  • Cocktail sauce
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard
  • Hot sauce
  • Low-calorie salad dressing
  • Steak sauce

How to reduce your child's salt intake

The following recommendations may help to decrease the amount of salt in your child's diet:

  • Don't use salt in cooking or at the table.
  • Cook with herbs and spices or, if permitted by your child's doctor, use salt substitutes.
  • Seasonings with the word salt in the name are high in sodium. When seasoning foods, use fresh garlic or garlic powder instead of garlic salt. Use onion powder instead of onion salt. And try celery seed rather that celery salt.
  • Eat home-prepared meals, using fresh ingredients, instead of canned, frozen, or packaged meals. When dining out, ask for dressings and sauces on the side for your child. Ask the chef to hold the salt in food preparation.

Type of food

Allowed

Foods to avoid

Milk, yogurt, cheese
  • Whole, 2%, or skim milk
  • Cottage cheese, regular hard cheeses, tofu
  • Puddings, custards, ice cream
  • Processed cheese, cheese spreads

Meat, fish, poultry
  • Fresh or frozen meats, poultry, fish
  • Low-sodium canned tuna or salmon
  • Dried beans and peas
  • Soybean or vegetable protein
  • Peanut butter
  • Salted or canned meats, fish (sardines, herring, anchovies), or poultry
  • Lunch meats (bologna, ham, corned beef)
  • Cured meats (ham, bacon, sausage)
  • Hot dogs, dried beef, jerky
  • Commercially frozen entrees
  • Kosher-prepared meats

Fruits
  • Fresh, frozen, or canned fruits, fruit juices
  • None

Vegetables
  • Fresh, frozen, or low-sodium canned vegetables
  • Sauerkraut, salted or pickled vegetables
  • Vegetables cooked with salted meats
  • Regular vegetable juices

Starches, breads, cereals
  • Potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, rice
  • Unsalted potato chips, low-sodium pretzels, unsalted crackers, unsalted popcorn, and nuts
  • Whole-grain and enriched breads
  • Pancakes, muffins, French toast, waffles, biscuits, cookies, cakes
  • Whole-grain and enriched cooked or commercially prepared dry cereals
  • Potato chips, slated snack foods, or pretzels
  • Commercially prepared rice and noodle mixes
  • Salted breads, rolls, and crackers
  • Salted popcorn and nuts

Miscellaneous
  • Chocolate, cocoa, horseradish, herbs and spices such as onion powder, fresh garlic, garlic powder, celery seed
  • Flavorings such as vinegar, lemon juice, Tabasco
  • Low-sodium condiments, seasonings, and salt substitutes
  • Ketchup, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, gravy (limit to 1 Tbsp per day)
  • Low-sodium canned soups, homemade soups
  • Commercially prepared meat sauces
  • Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  • Onion salt, garlic salt, celery salt, seasoned salt
  • Olives, pickles
  • Relish, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce
  • Dehydrated soup or bouillon, canned soups

Fats
  • Butter, margarine, lard, shortening, vegetable oil, mayonnaise
  • Salad dressing (limit 1 Tbsp per day)
  • Salt pork, bacon fat, fat back
  • More than 1 Tbsp salad dressing per day

Sample plan for 3,000 mg sodium restriction

In many cases, a child with nephrotic syndrome may be placed on a 3,000 mg per day sodium-restricted diet. The following is an example of a meal plan designed to meet this restriction:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Orange juice (1/2 cup)

Dry cereal (1/2 cup)

Toast (1 slice)

Margarine (1 tsp)

Jelly (1 Tbsp)

Low-fat milk (1 cup)

Beef patty (3 oz)

Hamburger bun (1)

Mustard (1 Tbsp)

Ketchup (1 Tbsp)

Sliced tomato and lettuce

Low-fat milk (1 cup)

Baked, breaded chicken strips, homemade (3 oz)

Oven-baked French fries, homemade (1/2 cup)

Green beans (1/2 cup)

Dinner roll (1)

Margarine (1 tsp)

Apple juice (1 cup)

Frozen yogurt (1/2 cup)

Morning snack

Afternoon snack

Banana

Cereal fruit bar

Oatmeal cookies (2)

Lemonade

Definitions for sodium claims on food labels

As you prepare foods for your child, it is important to read food labels carefully. Consider the following:

The food label reads

What this means

Sodium-free

Less than 5 mg sodium per serving

Salt-free

Meets requirements for sodium-free

Low sodium

140 mg sodium or less per serving

Very low sodium

35 mg sodium or less per serving

Reduced sodium

At least 25% less sodium when compared to the same product without reduced sodium

Light in sodium

50% less sodium per serving when compared to foods with more than 40 calories per serving or more than 3 gm of fat per serving

Unsalted; no added salt; without added salt
  • No salt is added during processing
  • The product it resembles and substitutes for is normally processed with salt
Online Medical Reviewer: Raymond Kent Turley BSN MSN RN
Online Medical Reviewer: Walead Latif MD
Date Last Reviewed: 8/1/2023
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