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Draft: not yet reviewed by a clinician

Use this page to prepare questions for your care team. It does not replace their advice. Your own targets and doses come from your nephrologist, diabetes team and renal dietitian.

Grocery shopping

In short

Most of a kidney diet is decided in the store. More than 70 % of the sodium people eat comes from packaged and restaurant food (FDA), and the phosphate additives in processed food are absorbed almost completely (NKF). Shop from a list, buy fresh or plain frozen food first, and read the ingredient list on anything in a package. In one study, 44 % of best-selling grocery items had a phosphate additive (León 2013). You do not need special "kidney" products.

Starting points, not your prescription

These numbers are typical starting points from guidelines. Your nephrologist, diabetes team and renal dietitian set your own numbers from your blood tests, urine output and medicines, and change them as your labs change. If your lab report or your team says something different, they win.

Your numbers: what to look for on a package

On the label Choose Put it back
Ingredient list no "phos" words, no potassium chloride phosphoric acid, any "…phosphate", potassium chloride (NIDDK; NKF)
Sodium per serving 140 mg or less ("low sodium") 460 mg or more (20 % DV) (FDA; FDA claim definitions)
Potassium per serving (if you are limiting it) 150 mg or less 251 mg or more (AKF)
Fresh meat or poultry plain "enhanced", "self-basting", "contains up to X % of a solution"
Carbohydrate Total Carbohydrate × the servings you will eat

See Reading food labels for the full five-step check.

What to do

Before you go

  • Plan the week's meals, or pick a sample menu for your stage and print its grocery list.
  • If you plan meals in the app, open the shopping list: it adds up every planned food for the days you choose (Planning and menus; app contract).
  • Check what you have: glucose tablets, salt-free seasonings, oil, rice and pasta.
  • Eat before you shop. Shopping hungry, or with a low coming on, leads to snacks you did not plan.

In the store, aisle by aisle

  • Produce. Lower-potassium choices: apples, berries, grapes, pineapple, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, onions and peppers (NKF). If your potassium is normal, buy the fruit and vegetables you like.
  • Meat and fish. Plain chicken, turkey, pork, beef or fish. Skip "enhanced" packages, deli meats, ham, bacon, sausages and hot dogs: they carry salt and often phosphate (NKF).
  • Dairy and alternatives. Plant milks vary: pick one with no phosphate in the ingredient list and check potassium per cup (NKF: milk alternatives). Cream cheese is low in phosphorus; skip processed cheese slices and cheese sauce.
  • Bread, rice, pasta. Plain rice, pasta, bread, English muffins and Cream of Wheat. Skip pancake, biscuit and cake mixes, which usually contain phosphate (review).
  • Canned food. Choose "no salt added" vegetables and fruit canned in juice. At home, drain and rinse canned vegetables and beans, which removes some sodium (FDA), and do not drink the liquid from canned fruit or vegetables, which holds potassium (NKF).
  • Frozen food. Plain frozen vegetables and fruit with no sauce or seasoning are as useful as fresh (FDA). Frozen dinners, pizza and breaded fish are often high in sodium and phosphate.
  • Snacks. Unsalted pretzels, plain popcorn, rice cakes, vanilla wafers. Nuts and seeds are high in phosphorus if you are limiting it.
  • Drinks. Water, tea and coffee you brew, clear sodas. Skip dark colas and many bottled teas and coffees, which can contain phosphoric acid or phosphate (review).
  • Seasonings. Herbs, spices, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and onion powder. A salt-free blend only if its label does not list potassium chloride (Sodium).
  • Diabetes supplies. Glucose tablets or gel for lows: one pack for home, one for the car, one for your bag (Treating a low).

At home

  • Put a note on the fridge with your team's numbers for potassium, sodium and fluid.
  • Cook extra plain chicken or fish once and use it in sandwiches, salads and soup later in the week (see the recipes).

Examples: swaps in the cart

Instead of Sodium Phosphorus Choose Sodium Phosphorus
Deli ham, 2 oz (phosphate added) 539 mg 144 mg Turkey breast you roast, 2 oz 56 mg 131 mg
Processed American cheese, 1 slice 468 mg 179 mg Cream cheese, 1 tbsp 46 mg 16 mg
Instant ramen, 1 package 1,503 mg 93 mg Plain pasta, 1 cup cooked, with olive oil and garlic 1 mg 72 mg
Canned chicken noodle soup, 1 cup 831 mg 45 mg Home-made soup, 1½ cups (recipe) 129 mg 214 mg
Breaded fish sticks, 3 (phosphate added) 338 mg 160 mg Plain frozen cod, 3 oz cooked 66 mg 117 mg
Refrigerated biscuit, 1 (phosphate added) 511 mg 227 mg English muffin, 1 264 mg 76 mg
Cola, 12 oz (phosphoric acid) 11 mg 33 mg Lemon-lime soda, 12 oz 21–36 mg 0 mg

USDA FoodData Central values through the app's food list (FDC). Phosphorus from additives is absorbed far better than the natural phosphorus in meat or grains, so the swaps help more than the milligrams suggest (Phosphorus). The home-made soup has more phosphorus than the canned one because it has much more chicken; it is a full meal.

A potassium example: a 1-oz bag of potato chips has about 335 mg potassium and 148 mg sodium; 3 cups of air-popped popcorn have about 79 mg potassium and 2 mg sodium (FDC).

Barcode scanning

If your app has barcode scanning turned on, scanning a package can show its label numbers and flag phosphate or potassium additives it finds in the ingredient list. A missing flag does not prove a food is free of additives: always read the list yourself (Barcode and photo; design note 03).

On a budget. The same study found that additive-free meals cost about $2 more a day at the time (León 2013). Plain staples help keep the cost down: rice, pasta, eggs, cabbage, onions, frozen plain vegetables, apples and canned fruit in juice, and a whole chicken or turkey breast cooked once for several meals.

Ask your care team

  1. Do I need to limit potassium or phosphorus right now, or only sodium?
  2. Which plant milk, bread and cereal brands do you suggest for me?
  3. Is it worth paying more for "low sodium" versions of the foods I eat most?
  4. Can a dietitian go through my usual shopping list with me?

Get help now if…

  • Shopping does not cause emergencies. If you feel a low coming on in the store, stop and take glucose straight away. For other urgent symptoms, see Get help now.

Sources

Not yet reviewed by a clinician. Facts and sources last checked 2026-10-06.