Foods to Avoid with IgA Nephropathy

Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
Updated on March 31, 2025
00:00
00:00

IgA nephropathy patients are a very common type of glomerular disease. For IgA nephropathy patients, it is crucial to adhere to a light diet, meaning they should avoid foods such as pickles, salted vegetables, kimchi, cured products, smoked products, and barbecues, focusing primarily on fresh vegetables and fruits. Of course, if IgA nephropathy patients also suffer from renal insufficiency, they must avoid various soy products including tofu, bean sprouts, soybean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, and nut-based foods. These foods contain a lot of plant proteins, which can increase the burden on the kidneys, leading to potential renal insufficiency. Additionally, they should not consume foods high in potassium, such as oranges, bananas, pineapples, etc. Therefore, it is essential for IgA nephropathy patients to be cautious with their diet.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
46sec home-news-image

IgA nephropathy manifestations

IgA nephropathy is a pathological type of chronic glomerulonephritis. The clinical manifestations of this disease are diverse, with the typical clinical presentation of IgA nephropathy being hematuria, especially visible hematuria following a cold. However, patients may also exhibit other features, such as significant amounts of urinary protein. In some cases, this can reach the level of 3.5g in a 24-hour urine protein quantification. Patients may experience edema, such as swelling in the lower limbs, eyelids, etc. There could also be clinical presentations of high blood pressure, rapid progression of renal failure, and other symptoms.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
1min 25sec home-news-image

How to control IgA nephropathy?

IgA nephropathy is a very common type of glomerular disease in clinical practice and is also a major cause of uremia. Therefore, sufficient attention should be given to IgA nephropathy by patients, and active treatment is required. The treatment of IgA nephropathy usually depends on the clinical manifestations and pathological types of the patient, meaning that the treatment approaches for patients with different clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy are not exactly the same. For patients who frequently experience gross hematuria, if it is related to tonsil infection, it is recommended that the patient undergo tonsillectomy. For patients with IgA nephropathy who only have microscopic hematuria, there is generally no need for special medication treatment. However, in daily life, regular monitoring of routine urine tests, kidney function, and blood pressure is necessary, and the use of drugs that are toxic to the kidneys should be avoided. For patients with IgA nephropathy who also have significant proteinuria, even nephrotic syndrome, treatment often requires the use of steroids, and even immunosuppressants. For patients with mild to moderate proteinuria, it is recommended to use angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Only in this way can the condition of IgA nephropathy be controlled.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Ji Kang
Nephrology
1min 7sec home-news-image

IgA nephropathy is a disease.

IgA nephropathy is the most common type of primary glomerular disease, caused by the deposition of IgA-dominant immunoglobulins in the glomerular mesangial area. It has a short latency period, with symptoms appearing early. Clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy are diverse, with approximately 40%-50% of patients experiencing macroscopic hematuria hours to two days after precursor symptoms such as upper respiratory tract infections, and some patients also suffer from severe back pain and abdominal pain. About 30%-40% of patients only present with asymptomatic hematuria or proteinuria. Approximately 5%-20% of patients exhibit severe edema and substantial proteinuria, showing symptoms of nephrotic syndrome. At the onset of the disease, about 10% of patients also have hypertension. As the disease progresses, those with hypertension can exceed 40%. Less than 10% of patients may experience acute renal failure.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
57sec home-news-image

IgA nephropathy stages 1, 2, 3 criteria

According to the standards of the World Health Organization, IgA nephropathy is classified into five stages pathologically. The first stage is where most glomeruli appear normal under light microscopy, with only minor mesangial proliferation or associated cellular proliferation, generally showing slight changes without damage to the tubules and interstitium; The second stage indicates mild lesions where over fifty percent of the glomeruli are normal, with only a small portion of the glomeruli showing mesangial cell proliferation, glomerular sclerosis adhesion, and other changes, without the formation of crescents; The third stage is focal segmental glomerulonephritis, characterized by diffuse proliferation of mesangial cells and widening of the mesangial areas, with the lesions exhibiting focal segmental changes and comparatively mild interstitial lesions.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Hu Lin
Nephrology
1min 16sec home-news-image

IgA kidney disease symptoms

The clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy are diverse. The most common clinical manifestations include episodic gross hematuria, asymptomatic hematuria, and proteinuria. Episodic gross hematuria often occurs several hours after an upper respiratory tract infection, or a day or two later. Patients may notice that their urine is dark tea-colored, brown, or fresh red, light red, and this type of gross hematuria tends to recur. The second type is asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, with or without proteinuria, also known as asymptomatic urinalysis. This is often discovered during physical examinations when patients show no symptoms and tests reveal hidden blood and protein positivity in the urine. The third major category is proteinuria, which in some patients may present as nephrotic syndrome-like proteinuria. The fourth is hypertension; the fifth, acute kidney injury; and the sixth, chronic kidney failure. Most patients with IgA nephropathy gradually progress to chronic kidney failure within 10 to 20 years of diagnosis.