Conditions we support › Kidney Disease

How it works

We keep sodium down, which helps almost everyone with kidney disease. Potassium and phosphorus are trickier, since whether you need to limit them comes down to your labs. The recipes default to lower amounts of both, because high levels are the dangerous direction to miss. If your latest labs show your potassium and phosphorus are in the normal range, you can have more of those foods. Protein works its own way: the recipes come with moderate protein by default, and if you're on dialysis you likely need more, so plan to add a serving. For every one of these, your nephrologist or renal dietitian sets the specifics. We don't ask for your labs or your weight, but if your team has given you numbers or limits, tell us in the goal box and we'll build around them.

Who it's a good fit for

People with chronic kidney disease who want everyday, kidney-conscious meals to cook alongside the care their renal team is guiding.

What the research shows

Kidney nutrition is the most individual thing we build, and there's a real reason for that. Your kidneys filter waste and balance minerals, and as their function changes, so does what your body can handle, sometimes in opposite directions depending on your stage and whether you're on dialysis. That's why there's no single "kidney diet," and why your renal team's numbers always win over any general advice, including ours.

A few principles do hold up across the research. Lowering sodium helps almost everyone with kidney disease, easing both blood pressure and fluid retention. Protein is the one that flips: before dialysis, easing back on protein and leaning more on plant sources can lighten the load on your kidneys and may help slow the decline, while once you're on dialysis the advice reverses, because dialysis itself removes protein and you need more to make up for it. Potassium and phosphorus come down to your labs, not a blanket rule. And here's a genuinely useful, newer insight: where your phosphorus comes from matters. The phosphate additives in processed and fast food are absorbed far more completely than the phosphorus naturally in whole foods, so cutting packaged food does double duty. It's part of why a whole-food, plant-leaning plate tends to be kinder to kidneys than the old restrictive lists suggested.

What to keep in mind

This is the one area where we're most deliberately conservative, and where "check with your team" isn't a throwaway line. We don't ask for your labs or your weight, so the recipes default to sensible, kidney-conscious choices, lower sodium, moderate protein, lower potassium and phosphorus, because if we're going to guess, we guess in the safer direction. But your nephrologist or renal dietitian holds your actual numbers, and those are the ones that count. If they've told you to eat more protein for dialysis, or that your potassium is fine, or given you specific limits, put that in the goal box and we'll build to it. Think of us as the kitchen, and your renal team as the ones who set the rules of the recipe.

Common questions