Best Protein Bars for Dialysis Patients

Many people on dialysis use protein supplements to meet their protein needs. Protein bars are a common choice. They are portable, shelf stable, and sometime pretty tasty! Finding a good protein bar for dialysis patients that takes into account all of the nutrition requirements can be tricky, but we’ve done the heavy lifting for you!

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Pre-dialysis or non-dialysis patients should not consume high protein bars since they are following a lower protein diet. If you’re looking for a kidney friendly granola or snack bar, check out this article.

What makes a protein bar kidney friendly?

Kidney Foodie has the following criteria when featuring a protein bar as one of the best protein bars for dialysis patients:

At least 12g of protein

If you need to eat more protein and are purchasing a bar specifically for that purpose, then be sure that the bar actually contains adequate protein. Many granola bars and snack bars will contain protein, but not in significant amounts. We recommend searching for a bar with at least 12g of protein per bar.

Low Sodium Protein Bars

The best protein bar for dialysis patients will be low in sodium. A good rule of thumb is to only select food products that have less sodium than calories. This is a simple way to help ensure that you are able to meet the recommendation to eat less than 2,300mg of sodium per day if you are on dialysis.

Limiting sodium intake is extremely important for people on dialysis. Too much sodium increases your thirst and will cause you to drink too much fluid. Too much fluid can make you feel tired and short of breath. If you have too much fluid on your body, it can also make dialysis more uncomfortable because they will need to remove more fluid.

Low Phosphorus Protein Bars

Many protein bars contain phosphorus additives, which are bad for people with kidney disease. Phosphorus additives can really drive up your phosphorus levels, which can cause problems with your parathyroid gland and damage your cardiovascular system.

It is important for people on dialysis to always check the ingredient list of foods to verify that there are no ingredients with the letters “PHOS” in them.

Potassium in Protein Bars

Depending on what type of dialysis you are on, you may or may not need to be concerned with how much potassium you eat. People on peritoneal dialysis tend to have higher potassium needs than people on hemodialysis. Talk to your dietitian about whether or not you need to be concerned with the potassium content of your protein bars.

In general, a food that contains less than 200mg of potassium is considered a low potassium food. However, it is also important to consider how many calories are in a food. The more calories in a food, the more potassium it can contain before we would consider it to be a high potassium food. We consider a food to be low in potassium if it contains less potassium than calories.

Calcium in Protein Bars

Many people on dialysis need to be careful with how much calcium they ingest. There are many foods, such as protein bars, that are actually quite high in calcium due to food additives. Fortunately, calcium is listed on the food label, so we can see how much calcium is in a protein bar. We recommend choosing protein bars that have less than 150mg of calcium per serving.

Other things to consider in dialysis friendly protein bars

Depending on your unique nutrition needs, you may also be concerned with carbohydrates, sugar, and fiber. We have listed these nutrients as well to help you make an informed decision.

Also, you don’t necessarily need to avoid bars with chocolate either. Read our chocolate guide to learn more.

Recommended Protein Bars for Dialysis Patients:

Note: Nutrition information is provided for the flavor pictured. To avoid cluttering the post, we do not feature every single flavor offered, however we do review the nutrient information of all flavors. If there are certain flavors that do not meet the criteria, we will indicate this in the description. Always double check the nutrition information before purchasing.

Clif Builders Protein Bars

• Calories: 290
• Protein: 20g
• Carbohydrate: 29g
• Fat: 11g
• Sodium: 200mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 212mg
• Calcium: 46mg
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 16g

Many Clif Bar products are lower in protein and/or contain phosphorus additives and are NOT recommended for people on dialysis. Be sure you are only purchasing the Clif BUILDER bars if you are looking for one of the best protein bars for dialysis patients that are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives. Clif Builder bars come in several flavors: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, and Vanilla Almond. The only flavor that does not meet the Kidney Foodie nutrition guidelines for protein bar is the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor, because it has more sodium than calories. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Aloha Protein Bars

• Calories: 240
• Protein: 14g
• Carbohydrate: 24g
• Fat: 12g
• Sodium: 95mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 173mg
• Calcium: 16mg
• Fiber: 10g
• Sugar: 5g

Aloha Bars meet our criteria for a good protein bar for people on dialysis. They come in several flavors, and all of them are appropriate for people on dialysis. These bars have a lot of fiber, so these are a good option for people who also have diabetes. Their bars are also lower in sodium than a lot of other protein bars. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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G2G Protein Bars

• Calories: 300
• Protein: 18g
• Carbohydrate: 25g
• Fat: 14g
• Sodium: 85mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Calcium: 150mg
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugar: 15g

G2G bars come in a variety of flavors that are appropriate for people on dialysis because they are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives. None of their bars list the potassium content. However, we have reviewed the ingredient lists and believe it is unlikley than any of these bars would be considered high potassium. All of the bars are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Cascadian Farm Protein Bars

• Calories: 240
• Protein: 12g
• Carbohydrate: 19g
• Fat: 14g
• Sodium: 210mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 94mg
• Calcium: 80mg
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 12g

Although these Cascadian Farm protein bars have a bit less protein than others, they are reasonably priced and can probably be found in your local grocery store, which is great. They are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives, which make them a great option for people on dialysis. They also come in a Honey Roasted Nut Flavor. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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One Protein Bars

• Calories: 230
• Protein: 20g
• Carbohydrate: 23g
• Fat: 8g
• Sodium: 150mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 100mg
• Calcium: 50mg
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 1g

One Bars are considered kidney friendly protein bars for people on dialysis. They come in many flavors, all of which were low in sodium and contained no phosphorus additives at the time of writing this. Compared to many protein bars, these are very low in sugar, which may make them a good protein bar for someone who has diabetes and is on dialysis. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Shanti Balance Protein Bars

• Calories: 240
• Protein: 17g
• Carbohydrate: 23g
• Fat: 11g
• Sodium: 35mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 140mg
• Calcium: 70mg
• Fiber: 8g
• Sugar: 10g

Shanti Balance bars come in a lot of creative flavors, all of which are dialysis friendly because they are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives. The protein of the bars can vary from 12g per bar up to 17g per bar, so keep that in mind when selecting a flavor. All of the flavors are very low in sodium, which is great for people on dialysis. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Power Crunch PRO Bars

• Calories: 310
• Protein: 20g
• Carbohydrate: 11g
• Fat: 22g
• Sodium: 200mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 220mg
• Calcium: 90mg
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 4g

Power Crunch PRO bars met our criteria for best protein bars for dialysis patients. They come in three different flavors, all of which are great for people on dialysis. These bars are lower in carbohydrates and sugar than most bars, so these can be a great choice for people with diabetes. These bars also contain no sugar alcohols, which is great if you are someone who is sensitive to sugar alcohols. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Power Crunch Protein Bars

• Calories: 220
• Protein: 13g
• Carbohydrate: 11g
• Fat: 14g
• Sodium: 100mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 60mg
• Calcium: 70mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 5g

In addition to the “PRO” products, Power Crunch also make protein energy bars that met our criteria for best protein bars for dialysis patients. These have a little less protein than the “PRO” versions, but are also less expensive. There are 14 different flavors, and all of them are good choices for people on dialysis. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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• Calories: 210
• Protein: 12g
• Carbohydrate: 25g
• Fat: 9g
• Sodium: 130mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 430mg
• Calcium: 40mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 17g

RX Bars met our criteria for best protein bars for dialysis patients since they are low in sodium and contain no phosphorus additives. These bars are a good choice for people on peritoneal dialysis due to their higher potassium content, but may not be appropriate for people on hemodialysis. Rx- Bars come in a variety of flavors and most of them are a good choice for people on peritoneal dialysis. The Chocolate Sea Salt, Maple Sea Salt, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Peanut Butter flavors are too high in sodium, so we recommend selecting a different flavor. NOTE: These bars are all high in potassium because they use dried dates as a sweetener. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Rise Protein Bars

• Calories: 270
• Protein: 18g
• Carbohydrate: 23g
• Fat: 15g
• Sodium: 20mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 270mg
• Calcium: 130mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 17g

Rise Protein Bars met our criteria for best protein bars for dialysis patients. They come in several flavors and they even have some flavors that are completely plant-based. All of the flavors are also very low in sodium. Some flavors are high in potassium and would be a better choice for people on peritoneal dialysis. The high potassium falvors include Cacao Banana, Lemon Cashew, and Sunflower Cinnamon. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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Quest

• Calories: 190
• Protein: 20g
• Carbohydrate: 23g
• Fat: 7g
• Sodium: 190mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 140mg
• Calcium: 120mg
• Fiber: 16g
• Sugar: 1g

Quest Protein Bars are high in fiber and low in sugar, which makes them a good choice for people with kidney disease and diabetes. However, many flavors are high in sodium, so be sure to read the food labels when choosing a flavor. The following flavors are considered low in sodium: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Sprinkled Donut. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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No Cow Protein Bars

• Calories: 190
• Protein: 22g
• Carbohydrate: 25g
• Fat: 4g
• Sodium: 160mg
• Phosphorus
  Additives: None
• Potassium: 19mg
• Calcium: 28mg
• Fiber: 16g
• Sugar: 1g

No Cow met our criteria for best protein bars for dialysis patients. These dairy free protein bars come in several flavors. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor is a bit high in sodium, but the rest all meet the nutrient needs for people on dialysis. All of these bars are very low in potassium, so they may be a good choice for patients that struggle with high potassium levels. Click the icon below to read reviews and check prices.

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You may also be interested in our post about the Best Protein Powders for People on Dialysis!