What Fruits to Avoid for People with Kidney Failure

In Kidney Failure, the kidneys are damaged and they are not able to filter the metabolic products normally as before. Therefore, they should especially be cautious about what they eat. So, what fruits to avoid for them?

Fruits high in potassium

The failed kidneys can not filter potassium normally as before thus causing hyperkalemia. If the serum sodium level is higher than normal (3.5~5.5 mmol/L), it is very likely to cause irregular heart beat or heart failure. Potassium is usually restricted to 2,000mg per day. The common fruits rich in potassium mainly include banana, oranges, peaches, watermelon etc.

Fruits rich in phosphorus

Phosphorus tends to accumulate in the blood of people with Kidney Failure. If the phosphorus is too high in blood, it will pull calcium from the bones, making them weak. Generally speaking, the patients are recommended to restrict the phosphorus intake to 800mg to 1000 mg per day. The fruits high in phosphorus mainly include longans, litchis, jujube, figs, apricots, plums, persimmons etc.

Besides limiting the consumption of foods high in phosphorus and sodium, the patients with Kidney Failure should also keep the following dietary principles.

☆ Low protein

Generally speaking, the patients who are not undergoing dialysis should restrict protein intake to 0.6 g to 0.8 g per kilogram of body weight. Moreover, they should keep 50% of the dietary protein should be of high biologic value. A low protein diet can slow down the progression of renal failure. The recommended foods containing high biological value mainly include milk, egg white, and lean meat. Meanwhile, they should cut the vegetable proteins from their diet such as bean products, dried nuts such as peanut, nut, sunflower etc.

☆Low-sodium

High blood pressure is commonly seen among people with Kidney Failure. If the sodium intake is high, it can cause retention of fluid and sodium thus aggravating high blood pressure. The patients are recommended to restrict the sodium intake to 2,000 mg per day. The common foods are particularly high in sodium mainly include cured meat, cheese, canned soups, packaged mixes and some snack foods such as chips, salted popcorn etc.


A healthy diet can slow the progression of Kidney Disease and delay the approaching of dialysis. If you want to get more personalized dietary suggestions, it is free for you to consult us on line.