How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Dialysis Patients

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Dietitian’s guide on how to find the best protein powder for dialysis patients.

Discover how to safely supplement your protein intake while on dialysis.

Last Updated
Jan 16, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Jack, Founder

Jack is the Founder of Drink Wholesome.

Medically reviewed by Brittany, MS, RD and Jenn, PA-C

Kayla is a Registered Dietitian with a MS in Nutrition.

Jennifer is a Physician Assistant with a BA in Nutritional Sciences.

Protein Powder for Dialysis Patients

Is Protein Powder Good for Dialysis Patients?

If you are beginning hemodialysis, you are likely going to make several lifestyle changes, one of which is increasing the amount of protein in your diet.

Not only does protein play an essential role in the creation and maintenance of every cell in your body, but dialysis also removes proteins from your blood.

This means that your protein needs are now higher than they were before the treatment.

The recommended protein intake for non-dialysis patients is 0.6-0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day with > 50% HBV proteins (Nutrients, 2017).

HBV stands for high biological value, and refers to protein sources such as eggs, fish, poultry, meat and dairy.

For patients on dialysis, the daily protein intake recommendation is 1.0-1.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, which is a lot of protein!

If you do not eat enough protein to make up for what is lost during dialysis, your body will break down muscles to get the protein that it needs.

This can lead to weight loss, fatigue, and put you at higher risk for infection.

It is therefore imperative that you find easy ways to increase the amount of protein in your diet, which is where protein powders can help.

Adding protein powder to your diet can ensure that you are meeting your protein goals. That said, people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) should use protein supplements in moderation.

When you digest dietary protein, it breaks down into amino acids, which are used for building and repairing muscles, among other things.

Any extra amino acids that your body does not need get excreted by the kidneys.

If you eat a lot of protein, your kidneys have to work extra hard to remove the excess amino acids, which can cause kidney damage over time.

A high-protein diet can also raise the levels of urea in your blood, which is a waste product created when protein breaks down.

Research shows that having too much urea and other waste products in your blood can cause kidney damage and increase the risk for chronic kidney disease in individuals with impaired kidney function (J Am Soc Nephrol, 2020).

This is all to say that protein supplements can be a useful nutritional tool for dialysis patients, but must be used in moderation.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Dialysis Patients?

When it comes to dialysis, not all protein powders are created equal. This is because dialysis patients have high protein needs, but need to limit phosphorus and potassium intakes.

Research suggests that Egg White Protein Powder and Bovine Collagen Protein Powder are among the best sources for renal patients, especially those undergoing dialysis treatment.

Both collagen and egg white are low in phosphorus and potassium. In fact, egg whites are not only low in phosphorus, but can also lower phosphorus levels in the blood (J Ren Care, 2011).

Egg whites do contain a moderate amount of sodium, however, so if this is a concern for you, then bovine collagen protein powder may be the best option for you.

Moreover, if you need to limit your potassium intake, it is recommended that you choose unflavored egg white or collagen protein powder.

Added ingredients tend to contribute phosphorus to a formula, so it may be best to keep it simple!

All that said, the amount of egg whites or bovine collagen allowed in your diet is dependent on your individual nutritional status.

You should therefore consult with your medical practitioner before making any significant changes to your diet.

What Protein Powder Ingredients Should Dialysis Patients Avoid?

Many protein powders contain added ingredients that can cause long term health problems for dialysis patients. Among these ingredients are food additives and protein concentrates and isolates.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other additives can alter the composition of your gut microbiome – the collection of microorganisms living in your gut (North Clin Istanb, 2019).

This can lead to gut dysbiosis, or an imbalance in gut bacteria, which may contribute to the development of kidney disease (Microorganisms, 2022; Front Med, 2021).

In case you were wondering, an imbalance in gut bacteria can result in the increased production of uremic toxins, which, in turn, can exacerbate local and systemic kidney inflammation.

⚠️ Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein supplements:

• acacia fiber
• acacia gum
• acesulfame potassium
• artificial flavors
• ascorbic acid
• aspartame
• calcium carbonate
• carrageenan
• cellulose gum
• dextrin
• dicalcium phosphate
• dipotassium phosphate
• erythritol
• gellan gum
• guar gum
• gum arabic
• inulin
• locust bean gum
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• mono- and diglycerides
• ‘natural’ flavors
• rice bran extract
• rice dextrin
• rice hulls
• rosemary extract
• silica
• silicon dioxide
• sodium alginate
• soluble corn fiber
• sorbitol
• soy lecithin
• sucralose
• sunflower lecithin
• tocopherols
• tricalcium phosphate
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• zinc oxide

As a rule of thumb, if you cannot find it in nature or make it at home, it is probably a food additive.

It is worth mentioning that protein supplements like NOVASOURCE and Nepro, which are made specifically for kidney patients on dialysis, are full of food additives like these, not to mention nasty ingredients like corn syrup and seed oil.

Although these products were specifically designed to help meet the nutritional needs of people on dialysis, they are not something I would recommend feeding to a healthy person, let alone a dialysis patient.

🚫 Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

You might also want to avoid ultra-processed protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein supplements are made from one or both of these ultra-processed protein sources, which have been mechanically and/or chemically stripped of everything but the protein.

This includes the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help your gut break them down.

You therefore do not digest them in the same way that you do whole foods, which could affect your gut health.

Studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Nutrients, 2018; Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

You should thus look for protein supplements made from whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. Nutrients (Nutrients). Protein Nutrition and Malnutrition in CKD and ESRD. 2017.
2. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN (J Am Soc Nephrol). The Effects of High-Protein Diets on Kidney Health and Longevity.. 2020.
3. Journal of Renal Care (J Ren Care). DIETARY EGG WHITES FOR PHOSPHORUS CONTROL IN MAINTENANCE HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY. 2011.
4. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2019.
5. Microorganisms (Microorganisms). Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis: Triggers, Consequences, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Options. 2022.
6. Frontiers in Medicine (Front Med). The Gut-Kidney Axis in IgA Nephropathy and IgA Vasculitis: Role in Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment. 2021.
7. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
8. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Mol Nutr Food Res). In Vitro Fermentation of Animal and Plant Protein Isolates by the Human Gut Microbiota Under High and Low Carbohydrate Conditions.. 2024.

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This article was written by a Registered Dietitian and reviewed by a Physician Assistant. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.