What Foods Should Patients with Nephritis Avoid?

The kidneys swelling or Nephritis is a serious disease met especially at children and adolescents. It can be both chronic and acute and it can lead to thee patient death if it is not treated immediately.
Nephritis is provoked by a Streptococcus infection of throat or by an attack of rheumatic or scarlet fever, by a weak immune system and a wrong diet or eating habit.
After the juice fast, the patient may adopt an all-fruit diet for four or five days. Juicy fruits such as apple, grapes, orange, pear, peach and pineapple should be taken during this period. Thereafter the patient may adopt fruits and milk diet for further five days. In this regimen, milk may be added to the fruit diet. After the fruit & milk diet, the patient may gradually embark upon a well-balanced lowprotein vegetarian diet, with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw and cooked vegetables.
In case of Chronic Nephritis, a short juice fast for three days may be undertaken. Thereafter, a week or 10 days may be spent on a restricted diet. In this regimen, oranges or orange juice may be taken for breakfast. Lunch may consist of salad of two vegetable in season and dinner may comprise one or two vegetables steamed in their own juices and a few nuts. Thereafter, the patient may gradually adopt a well-balanced low-protein vegetarian diet.
Further short juice fasts, followed by a week on the restricted diet, should be undertaken at intervals of two or three months until such time as the kidney condition has shown sign of normalization. The patient should avoid foods rich in oxalic acid such as spinach, chocolate and cocoa, Garlic, parsley, cucumber and celery are excellent vegetables. Best fruits are papaya and bananas. A small amount of soured milks and home-made cottage cheese can be included in the diet. All salt should be eliminated from the diet. Five or six small meals should be taken in preference to a few large ones.
The diet should be adequate in all essential nutrients. Supplements should be given to furnish the nutrients not obtained from food. The supplements may include one tablespoon of lecithin, 30mg. of Vitamin B6, 25,000 units of Vitamin A and 300 to 600 units of Vitamin E.

Smoking and drinking, where habitual, must be completely given up. Studies have shown that smoking impairs kidney function. The patient should avoid white bread, sugar, cakes, pastries, puddings, refined cereals, greasy, heavy or fried foods. He should also avoid tea, coffee, all flesh foods, condiments, pickles and sauces.