Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world and comes in many different forms. In moderation, tea can still be enjoyed when you have kidney disease, however there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the type of tea you are going to drink.
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Table of Contents
Is tea ok for kidney disease?
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world and comes in many different forms. When brewed, tea contains almost zero protein, calories, phosphorus, and sodium. Tea does contain potassium and caffeine (typically). There are about 90mg of potassium in one cup of brewed tea. Many people with Chronic Kidney Disease do not need to restrict there potassium intake and would not necessarily need to restrict their potassium intake.
If you are on dialysis, you may need to be more mindful of your potassium intake. People on hemodialysis are more likely to need to watch their potassium intake. More importantly, tea is considered a fluid. People on dialysis typically need to limit their fluid intake to 4 cups per day (or one liter). If you are controlling your fluid intake, you typically will not consume ‘too much’ tea, so the amount of potassium consumed through tea each day will be relatively minimal.
Drinking tea has been associated with reduced risk of CKD and albuminuria and increased eGFR. The caffeine found in tea can have a diuretic effect, which can increase eGFR temporarily, however it can also increase blood pressure, so be sure to consume caffeine in moderation.
Drinking too much tea can increase your risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. Tea contains compounds called tannins that can bind with iron and prevent it from being absorbed by your body.
If you routinely drink tea with every meal, then you may be at increased risk of becoming iron deficient. We recommend limiting yourself to only 1-2 glasses of tea per day to avoid interfering with iron absorption. We also recommend not drinking tea with your most iron rich meal of the day.
Tea is also high in compounds called oxalates. Oxalates can contribute to the formation of kidney stones (although there are many other factors that affects the formation of kidney stones). Black tea is higher in oxalates than green tea. If you are prone to developing oxalate kidney stones, you may consider limiting your intake of tea.
Can tea cause kidney disease?
There has been a case of tea-induced kidney disease related to high oxalate intake from tea, however the patient was consuming SIXTEEN 8-ounce glasses of tea each day. That is A LOT of tea. Consumption of 1-2 cups of tea each day would allow you to enjoy some of the protective effects of tea without risking a toxic dose of oxalates.
What kind of tea is best for kidney disease?
Tea brewed at home is the best choice. Many pre-made teas that you can purchase contain phosphorous additives, which should be avoided by people with kidney disease. Many pre-brewed teas may also contain potassium additives.
If you choose to brew your own tea, be careful choosing specialty tea blends that contain milk ingredients such as brewable Chai Lattes. Some of these may also contain phosphorus additives.
Does tea have potassium?
Yes, tea contains potassium. One cup of black tea will typically contain 30-88mg of potassium. One cup of green tea will typically contain 8-45mg of potassium.
Why isn’t potassium listed on the food label for teas?
According to the FDA regulations, manufacturers are not required to list out the potassium content of a food if it contains less than 2% of the Recommended Daily Intake. The RDI for potassium is 4,700mg, so anything containing less than 94mg of potassium can omit it from the label or indicate that the food item is “not a significant source of potassium”. They can even list it as zero!
Since a single 8 ounce serving of tea contains less than 94mg, it will not be listed on the label. This can be frustrating for people with kidney disease because 94mg of potassium is probably not insignificant to you! This is especially true if you drink a lot of tea.
A typical drinking glass can hold 12-14 ounces of liquid. If you drink 3 glasses of tea (or 42 ounces), that could be 462mg of potassium coming just from your teach each day!
How much potassium is in tea?
Fortunately, we do have some information available about potassium in tea. Below is a table containing the potassium and phosphorus content of various types of tea analyzed by the USDA. Although it won’t give you specific brands, this can give you an idea of roughly how much potassium and phosphorus are in different kinds of tea.
Potassium additives in tea
Some premade teas contain potassium additives. This is most common in diet or low calorie tea drinks because they use the low calorie sweetener acesulfame potassium.
Does tea have phosphorus?
Tea typically contains very little phosphorus. A typically 8 ounce cup of tea contains 0-2mg of phosphorus.
However, if you review the table in the previous section, you can see that some teas do contain phosphorus. For example, the TEA, GREEN, READY-TO-DRINK, CITRUS, DIET, FORTIFIED WITH VITAMIN C contains 85mg of phosphorus per 8 ounces (that’s almost 4x as much phosphorus as you would find in 8oz of dark cola!)
Some teas contain phosphorus additives. Phosphorus additives can add a significant amount of phosphorus to your diet, and this type of phosphorus is more easily absorbed by your body.
Phosphorus additives are typically found in pre-made, ready to drink tea. To determine if a tea has phosphorus additives, you need to read the ingredient list and check for any ingredient that contains “PHOS” like the example label below:
Pre-made Teas with No Phosphorus Additives
These brands of pre-made tea contained no phosphorus additives across all of their lines according to the October 2022 USDA FoodData Central Database. It is always good practice to read the ingredients labels to be sure, but you are much more likely to pick up a kidney friendly tea if you select one of these brands (luckily, this list is the longest!):
- 365 EVERYDAY VALUE
- 4C
- 7 SELECT
- 8TH WONDER
- AHOLD
- ARCHER FARMS
- BAI
- BARE NATURE
- BHAKTI
- BIGELOW
- BLUE BUDDHA
- BROOKLYN CRAFTED
- BRUCE TEA
- CHERIBUNDI
- CIRCLE K
- CORNER STORE
- DIET SNAPPLE
- DOC’S TEA
- FRESH & EASY
- FRESH FOODS MARKET
- GAIAM
- GEFEN
- GOLDENBREW
- GRATITUDE
- HARRIS TEETER
- HAWAIIAN SUN
- HONEST
- HONEST TEA
- HUBERT’S
- INKO’S
- ITO EN
- JOE TEA
- JOYBA
- KABAKI
- KINGS
- KROGER
- LONG ISLAND
- LOWES FOODS
- MARKET DISTRICT
- MARKETSIDE
- MEIJER
- MILO’S
- NATURE’S PROMISE
- ORGANICS
- OCEAN SPRAY
- PEACE TEA
- PRAIRIE FARMS
- Publix
- PUBLIX DELI
- PURE LEAF
- RALEY’S
- RAMA
- RED DIAMOND
- RITCHEY’S
- RUNNINGBYRD TEA COMPANY
- SAY WHEN
- SHAKA
- SHOPRITE
- SHURFINE
- SOTEA
- SPARKLING ICE
- SWEET LEAF
- TAZO
- TEARIOT
- TEAS’ TEA
- TEAVANA
- TEJAVA
- TEXAS TEA
- THAT’S SMART!
- THE REPUBLIC OF TEA
- THIRD STREET
- TIESTA TEA
- TOPS
- VIBE
- WEGMANS
- WILD HARVEST
- ZEVIA
- ZONE 8
Pre-Made Teas to AVOID
The following brands of pre-made / pre-brewed tea almost always contain phosphorus additives (as of the October 2022 USDA FoodData Central Database). These teas are NOT kidney friendly teas.
- BRISK – usually contains phosphorus additives
- FOOD LION – usually contains phosphorus additives
- FUZE – usually contains phosphorus additives
- GOLD PEAK TEA – usually contains phosphorus additives
- H-E-B – usually contains phosphorus additives
- LIPTON – usually contains phosphorus additives
- NESTEA – usually contains phosphorus additives
- PICS – usually contains phosphorus additives
- SMART SENSE – usually contains phosphorus additives
- TAMPICO – usually contains phosphorus additives
- TITAN TEA – usually contains phosphorus additives
Pre-made Teas that may contain additives
Some brands sells versions of their tea that do not contain additives, while some of them do contain additives. You will need to read the ingredients label carefully to determine if there are any phosphorus additives. Some of their teas could be kidney friendly teas.
- ARGO TEA – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- ARIZONA – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- CLOVER VALLEY – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- ESSENTIAL EVERYDAY – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- FOOD CLUB – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- GOLD PEAK – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- GREAT VALUE – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- HY-VEE – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- KUM & GO – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- LANGERS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- LUZIANNE – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- PACIFIC COAST SELECTIONS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- READYLEAF – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- RUTTER’S – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SCHNUCKS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SIGNATURE SELECT – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SNAPPLE – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SSIPS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- STEAZ – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SUNNY SELECT – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- SWISS PREMIUM – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- TRADEWINDS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- TURKEY HILL – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- WEIS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
- WELLSLEY FARMS – may contain additives. Read labels carefully.
