Diet and Nutrition

To achieve good kidney health, it's important to follow a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. This means eating a good variety of nutritious foods and watching your serving size.

Healthy eating with kidney disease

We recommend eating a diet rich in whole fresh seasonal foods, to help maintain good kidney health. This includes vegetables and wholegrains, and foods tailored to culture and spirituality. We recommend limiting ultra-processed foods and salt.

Salt

Too much salt in our diet can damage our kidneys, making them less effective at filtering our blood. This can cause fluid to build up in the body where we don't want it, leading to:

High blood pressure
Swollen ankles, feet and hands
Puffy eyes
Shortness of breath

See our salt and your kidneys fact sheet for more information.

Sugar

Eating sugary foods and large portions of white refined carbohydrates can lead to weight gain and increase your risk of developing diabetes. If you are living with diabetes, then managing your blood glucose (sugar) levels, and trying to keep these within a recommended range is one of the best things you can do to protect your future kidney health.

See our sugar and your kidneys fact sheet for more information.

Managing your diet

Many foods that play an important role in a healthy diet contain potassium. Not everyone living with kidney disease needs to follow a low potassium diet. We recommend speaking with your care team if you are unsure whether you need to follow a low potassium diet.

A low potassium diet focuses on reducing the amount and how often we eat certain foods, instead of cutting them out completely. A good place to start is reducing the amount of ultra-processed foods, takeaways, and junk foods that you eat which often contain potassium-based additives. High blood potassium levels can trigger dangerous changes in our heart rhythm if left unchanged.

If you have kidney disease, it is very important that your calcium and phosphate balance is checked and managed correctly. Your healthcare team will request regular blood tests to check your calcium and phosphate levels.

Treatment of calcium and phosphate imbalance is designed to:

prevent phosphate levels increasing in your blood
maintain calcium levels
reduce the hardening of our blood vessels making them less likely to get blocked
prevent bone disease caused by loss of calcium

See our calcium and phosphate balance fact sheet for more information.

‘Fluids’ refers to any foods that are liquid when they’re at room temperature – that includes ice cream, yoghurt, and ice cubes. Fluid is also contained in foods like soups, stews and gravy.

Some people on dialysis may need to limit their fluid intake, whilst others can drink to thirst. It’s usually people who are on peritoneal dialysis or more frequent home haemodialysis that can enjoy more freedom with their fluids, but this can also change over time.

A renal dietitian or your healthcare team can help you manage your fluid intake, including advice on how much you should drink each day. Our Drink Water Instead factsheet contains more information on how to manage your fluid intake.

Keeping to a fluid allowance helps you to feel well whilst having dialysis treatment and may help you stay out of hospital. Speak with your healthcare team if you are unsure whether you have a fluid allowance.

People having dialysis treatment may need to make changes to the types of food and drinks they regularly enjoy to keep their phosphate levels within range. Making these dietary changes, and taking tablets called phosphate binders with all meals and snacks as prescribed your doctor will help with this.

Some people [having] dialysis [treatment] may need to follow a low potassium diet. This is more common for haemodialysis than peritoneal dialysis and may also change over time. Some people may even be advised to increase the amount of high potassium food they eat. Speak to your healthcare team to know what diet is right for you.

If you have received a kidney transplant, then you may be advised to reintroduce foods which were previously restricted. It is also important to maintain a balanced diet and regular physical activity as some of the medications you are required to take can make it easy to gain unwanted weight.

Getting a well-rounded balance of nutrients from the food you eat is important at any stage of your journey. If you are on dialysis, living with a transplant, (or struggling to eat enough) then you may have to pay closer attention to the food you eat. Eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, lean meats and fish, and nuts and seeds is the best way to support your health.

It’s important that you only take supplements that are prescribed, as some can interfere with your treatment and be incredibly harmful. You may find extra vitamins and minerals helpful if you experience any of the following:

chronically poor or erratic eating habits
reduced appetite
nausea
vomiting
changes in taste
food aversions
undesirable weight loss
food insecurity
vitamin loss during dialysis.

It’s important that you talk to your dietitian or healthcare team to formulate a plan that works best for you.

When living with chronic kidney disease, managing what you eat and drink can be a challenge; however, your diet can also positively influence how you feel, and what other treatments you might need.

It is important to recognise that as kidney disease progresses your dietary needs will more than likely change. It is also important to recognise that every person with kidney disease is different and has different food preferences and dietary needs.

A Renal Dietitian is a specialist who works with people living with kidney disease. They provide support around nutrition and which foods can help to keep you well during your kidney journey. Your GP or Nephrologist may make a referral to a renal dietitian. The Dietitians Association of Australia can provide names and contact details of local renal dietitians. Call 1800 812 942 or visit www.daa.asn.au and then ask your doctor to arrange a referral to your preferred dietitian.

For more information and to get the most out of your appointment with the Dietitian see our Nutrition and Kidney Disease fact sheet.