- Why can too much protein be a problem in CKD?
- How much protein for CKD Stage 3 or 4?
- What is the average protein intake?
- How much protein is in foods?
- Plant protein vs animal protein: which is better in CKD?
- How to keep an eye on your protein without overthinking it
- Can I eat too little protein?
- What about protein supplements?
- Key takeaways
If you have CKD Stages 3 or 4, protein advice can feel confusing fast.
One minute, you are hearing that protein is healthy and important for muscle. Next, you are told that too much protein can put extra strain on the kidneys. Then someone mentions plant protein, and before long, every meal feels like a problem.
If that sounds familiar, then this blog post is for you. You do not need to cut out protein completely. For most people with CKD stages 3 to 4, the goal is not “high protein” or “no protein.” It is a moderate amount of protein – enough to support your overall health, without being so high that it could potentially harm your kidney function.
In this guide, we’ll explain what the evidence says, what “too much” protein actually means, whether the type of protein matters, and how to apply this day-to-day. The aim is to help you feel calmer, clearer, and more confident about what to do next.
Why can too much protein be a problem in CKD?
Protein is essential. Your body needs it to maintain muscle, heal, fight infection, and stay well. The issue in CKD is not that protein is “bad.” The issue is that more protein creates more waste products for the kidneys to process. When kidney function is reduced, handling that extra workload becomes harder.
Put simply, eating more protein than you need can mean more work for your kidneys, more waste to clear, and potentially faster kidney decline over time. That does not mean one high-protein meal has “damaged” your kidneys. It means that, over time, a pattern of consistently high-protein intake may not be helpful if you have CKD stages 3 to 4.
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How much protein for CKD Stage 3 or 4?
So what does too much protein actually mean?
The research shows that regularly eating more than about 1 gram of protein per kg per day is linked with possible faster CKD progression. So if you weigh 70kg, then consistently eating more than 70g of protein/day may lead to a decline in your eGFR.
The strongest overall evidence actually supports a target of around 0.8 grams of protein per kg per day for most people with CKD Stages 3-4 to delay the progression of CKD. However, there isn’t that much evidence of this target in older adults (if you are 65 years or older), and in many of these research studies, people were supervised by a healthcare professional to make sure that their overall diet had all the correct nutrients, which is harder to do if following a lower protein diet on your own. These research studies also do not take into account the protein needs of people who are very active and do a lot of resistance exercises, such as weightlifting.
We therefore take a moderate approach and recommend between 0.8 and 1.0 grams of protein per kg per day if you are not being monitored by a dietitian (but there may be exceptions to this).
That means:
- If you weigh 60 kg (9 stone 6 pounds), that works out at about 48 to 60 g of protein per day
- If you weigh 70 kg (11 stone), that works out at about 56 to 70 g of protein per day
- If you weigh 80 kg (12 stone 8 pounds), that works out at about 64 to 80 g of protein per day
It is important to note that this is general guidance and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to protein. For example, higher amounts of protein in the diet may be more appropriate for older, frailer people or those who are recovering from illness, as well as those who do weight training and a lot of exercise, while stricter restrictions may sometimes be considered in people with faster progression or those who are overweight.
What is the average protein intake?
On average, in the UK, we are eating more than 1.0 grams of protein per kg per day. So it is likely that you are already eating above recommended levels. This is why simply “eating normally” when you have CKD Stages 3-4 can still leave you eating more protein than is ideal for your kidneys, so addressing the amount of protein you eat should always be considered.
How much protein is in foods?
Protein is mainly found in:
1. Animal protein foods: This includes foods such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy.
2. Plant protein foods: This includes foods such as beans, lentils, pulses, tofu, soy products, and nuts.
Examples of the amount of protein in average portion sizes of these foods can be found below:
Animal protein | Plant protein | ||
Small steak (120g) | 40 g | 50g dried lentils | 12g |
Medium chicken breast (120g) | 36g | 150g tofu | 12g |
Minced beef (125g) | 32g | 100g edamame beans | 11g |
Salmon fillet (120g) | 30g | 120g chickpeas | 9g |
½ tin tuna (55g) | 14g | 120g kidney beans | 9g |
2 eggs | 14g | 30g cashew nuts | 6g |
Small block of hard cheese (50g) | 13g | 80g peas | 4g |
Glass milk (200 mls) | 7g | ||
Pot of yoghurt (150g) | 6g | ||
Cream cheese (50 g) | 4g | ||
It is important to note that starchy carbohydrates also provide a small amount of protein and should be included within your protein allowance.
- 75 g dried pasta: 9g protein
- 2 slices of bread: 6g protein
- 40g oats: 5g protein
- 50 g dried rice: 4g protein
- 150 g potato: 3g protein
Fruit, vegetables, fats and oils are not major protein foods.
Plant protein vs animal protein: which is better in CKD?
All protein counts towards your daily total, whether it comes from animal or plant protein foods. So if you are aiming for a lower-protein diet, it is overall daily protein that matters, not just animal protein.
However, as you can see from the figures above, plant protein contains lower amounts of protein in an average serving size compared to animal protein, so substituting animal protein for more plant protein will automatically reduce your overall protein intake.
Furthermore, the evidence suggests that plant-based low-protein diets, where at least half the protein comes from plant sources, offer added benefits to people with CKD, such as a reduction in acid in the blood and improved phosphate levels. Plant-based diets also offer more fibre and less saturated fat, both beneficial for overall health.
For many people, a realistic middle ground of smaller portions of animal protein and more meals built around beans, lentils, tofu, grains, and vegetables works well.
How to keep an eye on your protein without overthinking it
We don’t believe in always tracking your nutrients for CKD, as it can become stressful and overwhelming. In some instances, it can be helpful to track your protein intake for a short period of time using a tracker app. It can help get a clearer picture of how much protein you’re actually eating and help spot patterns. But we don’t recommend doing this for more than a week.
A more realistic long-term sustainable approach is to start by getting familiar with the foods you eat most often and whether they contain high, medium or low amounts of protein:
- High in protein: animal protein foods such as meat, chicken, and fish. Avoid having these foods more than once a day.
- Medium protein: dairy foods, eggs and plant-based protein foods such as beans, pulses and lentils.
- Low in protein: starchy carbohydrates such as pasta, bread and rice.
- No protein: fruit, vegetables, oils and fats such as butter and margarine.
These are based on an average serving size.
Over time, this makes it much easier to build meals that are more kidney-friendly without having to calculate everything.
Once you have that general awareness, the next step is not perfection. It is making a few key changes consistently.
That might look like:
- Having animal protein foods less often across the week
- Making your animal protein portions a bit smaller
- Swapping part of the animal protein for plant foods in meals you already enjoy
For example:
- Use half beef mince and half lentils in dishes like shepherd’s pie or chilli
- Try an all-lentil bolognese
- Make a tofu stir-fry instead of a chicken stir-fry
- Build more meals around beans, lentils, chickpeas or tofu rather than always starting with meat or fish
Can I eat too little protein?
Yes, and this is just as important.
Too little protein can lead to:
- Muscle loss
- Weakness
- Unexpected weight loss
- Poorer recovery from illness
- Poorer overall nutrition
Therefore, we do NOT recommend protein of less than 0.8 grams of protein per kg per day if unsupervised by a dietitian.
What about protein supplements?
For most people with CKD stage 3 or 4, high-protein supplements such as protein powders, protein bars, high-protein yoghurts and snack bars are not a good idea unless they have been specifically recommended by a healthcare professional. They can make it very easy to overshoot your protein target, especially when you are already getting enough from food. They may also be packed with food additives.
Key takeaways
✅ Regularly eating more than about 1.0 grams of protein per kg per day may be linked with faster kidney decline (however, one size does not fit all, and therefore, this might not apply to everyone).
✅ 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per kg per day is recommended for most people with CKD Stages 3-4
✅ All protein counts toward your total, including plant protein. However, a more plant-dominant pattern may offer extra benefits and will help reduce your overall protein intake.
✅ You do not need to cut out protein completely, and you do not need to become vegan or vegetarian unless you want to.
✅ Going too low in protein can be risky too, especially if you are older, frail, underweight, or losing muscle.
✅ Protein powders and high-protein snacks are usually not recommended in CKD Stages 3 and 4 unless your healthcare team has advised them.
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