Who needs to limit phosphorus?
Healthy kidneys remove extra phosphorus from the blood. Kidneys affected by chronic kidney disease cannot do this well, says the National Kidney Foundation, so people with kidney disease may be told to limit phosphorus. Follow the amounts your own care team gives you.
What this ranking does not show
Phosphorus that is added to processed foods is absorbed completely, and phosphorus from animal foods is absorbed more easily than phosphorus from plant foods, says the National Kidney Foundation. This ranking shows the amount in each food, not how much of it is absorbed. On packaged food, the US kidney institute NIDDK advises checking the ingredient list for words with “PHOS”.
We found no official per-serving cut-off for a low-phosphorus food, so this page ranks the foods without drawing a line.
Sources
- National Kidney Foundation. Phosphorus and Your CKD Diet. Updated 16 Jul 2024. Accessed 11 Nov 2026. https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/phosphorus-and-your-ckd-diet
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Healthy Eating for Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease. Reviewed Jan 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd/eating-nutrition







































