Renal Resource Center
Helping you and your loved ones better understand and manage kidney disease. Explore blogs, events, recipes, community questions, and more below.
Questions from our community
Explore questions from our community about chronic kidney disease and answers from advocates, renal dietitians, renal clinicians and more!
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Protein needs depend on:
Your CKD stage
Whether you are on dialysis
Your age
Whether you are at nutritional risk
For example:
Earlier stages often allow moderate protein
Stages 3–5 may require lower intake
Dialysis typically requires higher protein
Use our calculator to find your personalized range or learn more from renal dietitian.
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No. Protein is essential for muscle, immune function, and healing.
The goal in CKD is not to remove protein, it’s to eat the right amount for your stage and health status.
For many people in stages 3–5 (not on dialysis), lowering total protein intake may help reduce kidney stress. But completely eliminating protein can increase the risk of malnutrition.
Use our CKD protein intake calculator to help see how much protein you should have daily.
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You absolutely can get enough protein from plant sources.
Examples:
Beans and lentils
Tofu and tempeh
Peas
Nuts and seeds
Whole grains
Plant proteins generally contain less protein per serving than animal protein, which can actually help if you are on a moderate or restricted protein plan.
Research supports replacing at least 50% of animal protein with plant protein for those with CKD.
