Plant-Based Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease
A Guide to Starting a Plant-Based Diet with Kidney Disease
What is a plant-based diet?
A plant-based diet is one that includes mostly plant foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes
(beans, peas and lentils), and healthy plant fats (such as olive oil or avocado oil). This diet is low in animal
foods like dairy, eggs, fish, and meat. Ideally, this diet includes whole foods in place of highly processed foods.
A balanced plant-based
plate can look like this:
Vegetables, such as: You may need to add:
Whole grains, such as: ▪ Broccoli ▪ Omega-3
▪ Brown rice ▪ Leafy greens ▪ Vitamin B-12
▪ Barley ▪ Squash ▪ Vitamin D
▪ Quinoa
Nuts/ seeds
Fruit, such as:
▪ Berries
▪ Kiwi
▪ Pear Legumes,
such as:
▪ Lentils
▪ Beans
Is a plant-based diet right for me?
Plant-based diets can help improve blood pressure, control high blood sugar (if you have diabetes), and
maintain a healthy weight. Plant-based diets can help prevent other medical problems such as heart
disease and help to manage or slow the progression of kidney disease.
How to start a plant-based diet
When making any change, it’s important to make one small change at a time. The tips below can help get
you started:
▪ Consider starting with just one plant-based meal per day.
▪ Look at your usual diet and find the foods you can swap out for plant-based alternatives. Ask about
each food choice: Does this food come from a plant or animal? Is this food in its whole form? Has it
been minimally processed and packaged?
▪ When in doubt, start by picking a fruit or vegetable to replace a more processed meal item or snack.
UC Davis Health l MPEC rev: 02/2021
Nutrients to Consider
If you have kidney disease, you may need to be mindful of your intake of protein, potassium, phosphorus,
and sodium. When starting a plant-based diet, it is important to consider certain nutrients.
Plant-based sources of protein and minerals may not be as fully absorbed as animal-based or highly
processed foods. For that reason, you may not need to restrict these plant-based foods as much, or at all.
Talk with your kidney team about what nutrients you need to restrict on a plant-based diet. Your routine lab
work will continue to be the best way to know how much of these nutrients you should be eating.
Phosphorus
Protein
▪ Very little of the phosphorus in whole plant-based
▪ Work with a Registered Dietitian to make foods is absorbed, so you do not need to limit
a meal plan with the right amount of these foods.
protein from beans, nuts, seeds, and nut
butters. ▪ If you include dairy (cheese, milk, or yogurt) in
your diet, use in small amounts (1 oz cheese, ½
▪ If eating animal protein, choose fish and cup (4 oz) yogurt or milk).
skinless poultry more often than red
meat. Cook egg whites in healthy plant ▪ Limit or avoid highly processed and packaged
fats. Avoid packaged and processed foods, which contain added phosphorus that is
meats like hot dogs, sausage, bacon, easily absorbed by the body.
which are often high in unhealthy fats
and sodium.
Sodium
Potassium
▪ Sodium naturally found in plant-based foods does
▪ Whole plant foods contain potassium and not affect your fluid status or blood pressure.
fiber. The fiber in these foods limits the
potassium absorbed by the body. Work ▪ Limit or avoid packaged and highly processed
with a Registered Dietitian to make a foods and snack items, which may affect your fluid
meal plan with plenty of whole plant status and increase blood pressure.
foods.
Supplements
▪ If avoiding all animal products, you may need to
supplement certain vitamins and minerals. Talk
with your doctor or Registered Dietitian before
starting any new supplements.
UC Davis Health l MPEC rev: 02/2021
Building a Plant-Based Meal
To make sure you are getting the right amount of nutrients your body needs, try to eat from all food groups.
Pick items from each of the groups below to help you build your plate. Aim to choose “green light” foods
most of the time, “yellow light” foods some of the time and aim to limit or avoid “red light” foods.
Food Group Green Light Yellow Light Red Light
Vegetables Fresh, frozen, or canned with Canned vegetables with
no added salt. Some added salt
Goal: at least 5 servings examples:
Jarred marinara/ tomato
per day
Asparagus sauces
One serving = 1 cup raw Bell pepper
or ½ cup cooked Potatoes (soak and
Broccoli
rinse to reduce
Cabbage potassium)
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Dark leafy greens (like kale,
spinach, collard, and
mustard greens)
Green beans
Mushrooms
Onion
Legumes and beans Beans- dry or canned* with no Meat alternative products
added salt: (such as soy sausage,
Goal: at least 3 servings All varieties including lentils, veggie burgers)
per day
soybeans/ edamame
One serving = ½ cup
Tofu/tempeh
*Rinse canned beans to lower
sodium.
Whole grains Barley Corn tortillas White bread
Brown rice Cookies/ cakes
Goal: at least 4 servings Oats- steel cut or rolled Whole wheat bread, White rice
per day pasta, tortillas,
Quinoa Flour tortillas
chapati/roti Chips
One serving = ½ cup
cooked grain/pasta, 1 Naan
slice bread, 1-6” tortilla Pastries/ muffins
UC Davis Health l MPEC rev: MM/YY
Food Group Green Light Yellow Light Red Light
Nuts/Seeds Unsalted nuts (such as Salted nuts
almonds, walnuts,
Goal: 1-2+ servings per Nut/ seed butters with
pistachios)
day added salt and/or
Pumpkin seeds sugar
One serving = ¼ cup
Chia seeds
nuts, 2 Tbsp nut/seed
butter Flax seeds
Nut/seed butters
(natural, no added
sugar or salt)
Fruit Fresh or frozen fruits, Dried fruit Jams/jellies
such as:
Goal: 3+ servings per Apple sauce Fruit snacks
day Berries (unsweetened)
Canned fruit in heavy
Apples Fruit leather syrup
One serving = 1 cup raw
or ½ cup cooked/ Pears Canned fruit in 100% Applesauce with added
blended juice sugar
Banana
Kiwi Avocado
Melon
Beverages Water 100% fruit juice Regular dark sodas
Talk to your doctor Sparkling seltzer/ soda Clear diet soda Sweetened coffee
about your daily fluid water beverages
Root beer
goals Unsweetened coffee Energy drinks
Diet tea and juice
and tea
horchata/ sweetened
Unsweetened milk
agua fresca
alternatives (soy,
almond, coconut, rice) Cow’s milk
Fruit punch/ Kool-aid®
Fats Olive oil Animal-based fats such
as butter and lard
Goal: less than 1-2 tsp Avocado oil Canola or vegetable oil
Coconut oil
per meal Coconut milk
Margarine
Pre-made salad
dressings
UC Davis Health l MPEC rev: 02/2021
Resources
General Resources
National Kidney Foundation: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/vegetarian-diet-and-ckd
Vegan Health: https://veganhealth.org/kidney-disease/
The Vegetarian Diet For Kidney Disease: Preserving Kidney Function with Plant-Based Eating. Joan B.
Hogan, ISBN 9781591202660
Recipes
Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetics Practice Group: https://www.vndpg.org/vn/resources/recipes
UC Davis Health l MPEC rev: 02/2021
