Although sodium is needed for several body functions, an excessive sodiumintake can be harmful for children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In Belgium, there is no uniform low-salt diet for children with CKD; it’s not preferable to copy/paste a dietary advise for adults into pediatric needs. Therefore the Belgian Pediatric Renal Dietitians organized a working group; the aim of the working group is to elaborate a low salt diet specifically based on CKD-children’s needs. 

Material and methods:

We reviewed several low-salt advices, trying to designate them to parents’ and children’s needs. We made a translation of theory into practice with clear advice concerning low-salt intake. We added tips and tricks to facilitate the life of children with chronic kidney disease on a low-salt diet. 

Results:

The guide has been divided into different parts. The first part explains the general low-salt diet. The second part consists of more specific guidelines based on the prescribed salt restriction.

When a low-salt diet has been prescribed, it’s important to talk to your pediatric renal dietician; he/she can use the low-salt-diet guide to teach how to implement the low-salt diet in children’s life. It shows the high-salt containing foods and learns how to season children’s favorite food with low-salt ingredients. 

Conclusions:

The low-salt diet guide helps to improve the quality of life in children with CKD on a low-salt diet. We chose for an adaptable guide. The caretaker/dietician can add valuable product-information and/or a personal scheme, based on prescribed doctor’s advice.  We made a practical pocket guide which can easily be used by parents and children to make the low-salt diet more palatable.