Kidney Disease: Your Food and Fluid Guide

Eat less salt

• Eat less than 2,000 mg of sodium (salt) a day.
• Read food labels. Limit canned, frozen, fast, and deli foods.
• Season food with herbs, lemon, and spices.
• Do not use salt substitutes. Most contain potassium.

Know your potassium and phosphorus

• Follow only the limits your provider or dietitian gives you. Your blood tests guide them.
• High in potassium: bananas, oranges, potatoes, and tomatoes.
• High in phosphorus: milk, cheese, colas, and processed foods.
• Take your phosphate binder with meals and snacks.

Eat the right amount of protein

• Before dialysis, you eat less protein. On dialysis, you need more, because dialysis removes some protein.
• Your protein plan: ____________.

Watch fluids and weight

• Your fluid limit, if prescribed: ____________ a day.
• Ice, soup, and gelatin count as fluid. Use a small cup.
• Sugar-free hard candy helps when your mouth feels dry.
• Weigh every morning after using the bathroom. Write it down.

Take care with medicines

• Do not take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve).
• Ask before taking herbs, laxatives, antacids, or any new medicine.
• Take your blood pressure and diabetes medicines as directed.