Sodium and Fluid Restriction

Sodium restriction for children with renal failure

A low-sodium diet or salt restriction may be used to help prevent or reduce fluid retention in your child's body. The amount of sodium or salt allowed in your child's diet depends on your child's medical condition. Your child's physician or dietitian will determine the amount of sodium allowed in your child's diet. This is usually expressed in milligrams (mg) per day. Some common sodium restrictions include 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 mg per day. With most sodium-restricted diets, high-sodium foods are limited and salt is not allowed in food preparation or at the table.

Foods high in sodium

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

Foods low in sodium

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

Low-sodium seasonings

The following low-sodium seasonings may be used freely:

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
Mrs. Dash

onion (fresh)
onion powder
oregano
paprika
pepper
rosemary
sage
tarragon
thyme
Tabasco

The following seasonings are high in sodium but can be used in limited amounts:

Limit 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 reduce 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 physician, use salt substitutes like Mrs. Dash, Nu-Salt, NoSalt, or Morton's Lite Salt.
Seasonings with "salt" in the name, like garlic salt, are high in sodium. When seasoning foods use fresh garlic or garlic powder, use onion powder instead of onion salt, and try celery seed rather than celery salt.
Eat home-prepared meals, using fresh ingredients, instead of canned, frozen, or packaged meals. When dining out, request dressings and sauces on the side. Ask the chef to hold the salt in food preparation.

Type of food	Allowed	Foods to Avoid
Milk, yogurt, cheese	Whole, 2 percent, 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/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 and seasonings such as Mrs. Dash, Nu-Salt, Morton's Lite Salt, NoSalt Ketchup, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, gravy (limit to 1 Tbsp/day) Low-sodium canned soups, homemade soups	Commercially prepared meat sauces Monosodium glutamate (MSG) Onion salt, garlic slat, 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/day)	Salt pork, bacon fat, fat back More than 1 Tbsp. salad dressing/day

Sample plan for 3,000 mg sodium 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

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 percent less sodium when compared to the same product without reduced sodium
Light in sodium	50 percent 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

Search Health Information

In This Section