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Chicken noodle, vegetable, lentil, tomato, there are so many varieties of soup out there! Soup can be tricky with chronic kidney disease. It can be high in sodium and that is not always ideal for CKD. It’s possible to enjoy soup with chronic kidney disease, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
Sodium, Soup, and Chronic Kidney Disease
Soup can often be a high-sodium option with CKD. A high sodium diet can cause further kidney damage as well as high blood pressure when you have CKD. Therefore, following a low-sodium diet is key to managing CKD.
When looking for lower-sodium soup options at the grocery store, it can be helpful to to check the nutrition label. The sodium portion of the nutrition label tells you how many milligrams of sodium are in each serving/portion. A low-sodium food is considered to be less than 5% of the % daily value (Less than 140 mg sodium per serving); a high-sodium food is considered to be >20% of the % daily value.
Find the Right Soup for Your Kidneys
You might also notice that certain soup labels have health claims on them like “salt-free” or “reduced sodium.” Here is a quick rundown of what these health claims mean so you can find the right soup option for you:
- Salt/Sodium-Free: <5 mg of sodium per serving
- Very Low Sodium: 35 mg of sodium or less per serving
- Low Sodium: 140 mg sodium or less per serving
- Reduced Sodium: At least 25% less sodium than the regular product
- Light in Sodium/Lightly Salted: At least 50% less sodium than the regular product
- No-Salt-Added/Unsalted: No salt is added during processing (may not be salt/sodium-free)
It can also be helpful to use low-sodium or no salt added broths, spices, and seasonings when making homemade soup. Dash seasonings like these work great!
Other Things to Keep in Mind with Soup Recipes For Chronic Kidney Disease
The more veggies, the better: When choosing or making soups with CKD, it can be helpful to choose more veggie-forward options. Following a more plant-based diet has been shown to help manage CKD. For example, try opting for a creamy broccoli soup instead of a creamy chicken soup. Or, simply add extra vegetables to your meat-based soups.
Look for phosphate additives: Choosing soups without phosphate additives can also be helpful. Some canned foods can contain phosphate additives that can be harmful to those with CKD. Phosphate additives often act as stabilizers and preservatives in canned products but can contribute to high phosphorus levels in CKD patients.
Managing phosphorus levels is important when you have CKD. When looking at the nutrition label, check the ingredients list for anything with “PHOS” in it. If you see any ingredient with “PHOS”, limiting or avoiding that food is a good option because it contains a phosphate additive.
Make it a Balanced Meal
Sometimes soup isn’t always as filling as we want it to be. It can leave you feeling hungry soon after. That can be because it may not have enough protein, fiber, or healthy fats in it to make it a balanced meal. A good rule of thumb is to try and make sure you have enough fiber (vegetables, beans, brown rice, whole grain pasta, legumes, etc), protein (edamame, tofu, beans, chicken, etc), and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado oil, etc) along with your soup.
For example, if you are having a vegetable soup that is just broth, spices, and vegetables, you might want to add some beans and olive oil for more protein and healthy fats.
Soup Recipes for Chronic Kidney Disease
- Creamy broccoli soup
- Easy chicken and veggie soup
- Low sodium chicken soup
- Spring vegetable soup
- Zesty taco soup
- Minestrone soup
- Low sodium creamy mixed vegetable soup
- Simple cabbage soup