Healthy eating

Healthy eating can help manage your blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol levels, and keep your weight in a healthy range.

Our kidneys are responsible for removing waste products from the food and drink that we consume. A healthy diet makes fewer waste products and puts less strain on the kidneys.

It is important to choose a variety of different foods and get a good balance of all the nutrients to stay healthy and well.

If you have been advised to follow any special diets by your doctor or dietitian, it is important to take this into consideration before looking to implement any of the advice below, as the following is general healthy eating advice for kidney disease and not tailored to other clinical conditions.

What to eat

Fruits and vegetables

Aim to have at least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day. A portion is 80g or around one handful. They provide good sources of fibre, vitamins and minerals and are overall good for your kidney and heart health.

These can be fresh, frozen or canned (ideally in spring water and not brine or syrup). A variety of different fruits and vegetables provides a wider range of vitamins and minerals.

Starchy foods

Starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and other grains provide the body with energy. Opting for wholegrain versions where possible will increase the fibre and vitamins in your diet.

Protein

Protein is important for growth and maintenance of our body. Protein can be found in plant and animal foods.

Healthy plant-based foods are beans and chickpeas, lentils, pulses, tofu, nuts and seeds.

Animal-based foods are fish, eggs, meat, poultry and dairy products.

It is beneficial to get your protein from a variety of sources. Regularly replacing some of your meat for unprocessed plant protein foods may help slow the loss of kidney function.

Processed meats and processed meat-alternatives are best avoided due to their high salt content.

Dairy foods

Dairy foods and fortified plant-based dairy alternatives are good sources of calcium and B vitamins. Choose versions that are without added sugar.

Processed foods / additives

Fat / oil

It is beneficial to only have small amounts of heart healthy fat in the diet. Choose options such as olive oil and rapeseed oil and limit saturated fats such as butter, lard, ghee and palm oil.

It is also important to have a source of omega-3 fat in your diet for your heart health. Aim to have a portion of oily fish such as salmon, sardines or mackerel once a week.

You can also get omega-3 from plant sources such as walnuts, hemp, chia or flax / linseeds and rapeseed oil.

Sugar and additives

It is best to get most of your diet from cooking with whole foods where possible, and limit processed foods as these are high in added saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives.

Snacks high in saturated fat, salt and sugar should also be kept to smaller portions and only enjoyed on occasion.

Examples of processed foods include processed meats such as ham and sausages, instant soups, ready meals, crisps and savoury snacks, biscuits, cakes and other pastries.

Salt

Reducing your intake of salt can also help for those with kidney disease.

For more information please visit:

Salt - Oxford Kidney Unit

Alcohol

Unless you take any medications that recommend you avoid drinking, you can still enjoy a moderate amount of alcohol and stay healthy. However drinking to excess can have negative effects on blood pressure, cholesterol levels and weight.

It is recommended to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across three days or more.

A unit is around half a pint of beer, a 25ml pub measure of spirit or a 125ml glass of wine.

You can use Alcohol Change UK's unit calculator to help work out how much you are drinking:

Unit calculator | Alcohol Change UK

Some alcoholic drinks are high in potassium, so if you need to limit your potassium intake, do opt for lower potassium alcohol options in your Reducing Potassium dietary leaflet.

Low potassium / phosphate diets

Many people with chronic kidney disease do not need to follow low potassium or phosphate diets.

However those with more advanced kidney disease may need to make changes to their potassium and/or phosphate. This is very individual and is based on your CKD stage, blood test results and trends, medications and the foods you eat.

It is not recommended to go on a low potassium or phosphate diet unless you have specifically been told to do so by your doctor, dietitian or specialist nurse.

If you have kidney disease, avoiding phosphate additives in the diet can be helpful. This is to look after your kidney, heart and bone health.

Food manufacturers often use additives to help preserve food and to enhance its flavour. These are typically found in ready meals, processed foods and dark coloured fizzy drinks.

The phosphate added to food is completely absorbed by the body, so can contribute greatly to your blood phosphate levels.

You can check for words that contain 'Phos' in ingredient lists to identify foods with phosphate additives, and try to avoid these.

Additives that contain phosphate

• E338 - Phosphoric acid
• E339 - Sodium phosphate
• E340 - Potassium phosphate
• E341 - Calcium phosphate
• E343 - Magnesium phosphate
• E450 - Di-phosphates
• E451 - Tri-phosphates
• E452 - Poly-phosphates