You can definitely still eat nuts if you have Chronic Kidney Disease! I always have to remind people that not everyone with kidney disease needs to, or should be, on a low potassium diet. Nutrient needs are highly individualized and restricting potassium unnecessarily actually does more harm than good.
Having said that, there are still many people with CKD that do need to be more mindful of how much potassium they’re consuming. Luckily there are several low potassium nuts that are kidney friendly!
Which nuts are lowest in potassium?
A standard serving of nuts is 1 ounce which is ~ ¼ cup portion. Below you will find the potassium content for the lowest potassium nuts. These nuts are less than 130 mg potassium per serving.
How many servings of nuts can you eat daily?
This totally depends on your individual needs. In general, 1-2 servings of nuts per day is okay for someone with kidney disease.
If you choose a lower potassium nut (like the ones mentioned above), you can likely eat a larger portion (or multiple portions) than if you chose a higher potassium nut.
For example, almonds, cashews, and peanuts can all be part of a kidney friendly diet as well. But since they are higher in potassium, you likely want to stick to just one serving (one ounce) if you’re on a potassium restriction.
Almonds contain 208 mg potassium for a one ounce portion. Peanuts have 200 mg potassium and cashews have 187 mg potassium for the same one ounce portion.
These nuts could definitely still fit in a low potassium diet, but may need to be consumed in smaller portions or less frequently depending on the rest of your diet.
Make sure to measure your nuts
You should always take the time to measure out the portion of nuts that you consume. One ounce is only ~ ¼ cup which isn’t a very large amount. If you are adding them to your oatmeal, smoothie bowl, or salad, this amount goes a long way.
But if you are snacking on nuts and take a handful without measuring, you could easily be consuming a 1 cup portion, or more! This would be 4+ servings of nuts.
Even the lowest potassium nuts will be high potassium if consumed in this volume!
What about the phosphorus in nuts?
Like potassium, nuts have all different phosphorus content as well. Luckily, walnuts, pecans and macadamia nuts are all lower phosphorus nuts!
But don’t forget that the phosphorus in whole plant foods is minimally absorbed (only 30-50%). So you don’t absorb all of the phosphorus coming from the nuts. To learn more about why this is, check out my blog post, “Top 3 Things To Know About Phosphorus If You Have Kidney Disease”
Eating nuts on a renal diet
To summarize, nuts can and should definitely be part of a kidney friendly diet. They provide heart healthy fats, fiber and some plant protein.
They can help provide healthy calories and keep you full longer!
If you need to be on a low potassium diet, choose macadamia, pecans, or walnuts since they are the lowest potassium nuts. If you don’t like those nuts, just make sure you are very mindful of the portion that you consume of other, higher potassium nuts.
If you’re looking for more low-moderate potassium foods for CKD, download my FREE CKD Grocery List!
