In naturopathy, the natural remedy of nephritis is fasting. The patient should resort to juice fasting for seven to ten days till the acute symptoms subside. Mostly vegetable juices such as carrot, celery and cucumber should be used during this period. A warm water enema should be taken each day while fasting, to cleanse the bowels of the toxic matter being thrown off by the self-cleansing process resulting from the fast. After the juice fast, the patient may adopt an all-fruit diet for four to five days. Juicy fruits such as apples, grapes, oranges, pears, peaches and pineapples should be taken during this period at five-hourly intervals. After the all-fruit diet, the patient may adopt fruits and milk diet. In this regimen, milk, preferably raw goat`s milk may be added to the fruit diet for further seven days.
Thereafter the patient may slowly embark upon a well- balanced low protein vegetarian diet, with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw and cooked vegetables. In case of chronic Nepthritis a short juice fast for three days may be undertaken. Subsequently, a week or ten days may be spent on a controlled diet. In this regimen, oranges or orange juice may be taken for breakfast. Lunch may consist of a salad of raw vegetables which are in season, and dinner may comprise one or two vegetables, steamed in their own juices and a few nuts. The patient should avoid vegetables containing large quantities of oxalic acid such as spinach and rhubarb. Chocolate and cocoa also contain oxalic acid and must not be used. Garlic, asparagus, parsley, watercress, cucumber and celery are excellent vegetables. The best fruits are papaya and bananas. Both have a healing effect on kidneys. A small amount of soured milk 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. A glassful of carrot juice mixed with tablespoonful of honey and a teaspoonful of fresh lime juice is a very successful home remedy for Nepthritis. It should be taken every day early in the morning before breakfast. Bananas are also valuable in Nepthritis because of their low protein and salt content and high carbohydrates content. In this condition, a diet of bananas only should be taken for three or four days, consuming eight to nine bananas a day. Smoking and drinking, where habitual, must be totally given up. Studies have shown that smoking impairs kidney function. The patient should avoid white bread, sugar, cakes, pastries, puddings, and refined cereals, greasy, heavy or fried foods. He should also avoid tea, coffee, all flesh foods, condiments, pickles, and sauces.
All measures should be adopted to relieve the kidneys of work by escalating elimination through other channels. Hot Epsom salt bath should be taken every alternate day to encourage elimination through the skin as much as possible. Fresh air and outdoor exercises will be of great advantage in all cases of Nepthritis and where possible, the patient should have a walk for at least three kilometers once or twice on a daily basis. The sufferer from chronic Nepthritis should never exert himself when doing anything. He should avoid all hurry and excitement.
