---
title: "Why Cut Back on Doenjang Soup and Sugary Drinks When Your Kidneys Are Unhealthy"
locale: en
category: knowledge_base
category_name: "Knowledge Base"
translation_status: reviewed
license: cc_by
author: "Injoys Editorial Team"
source_url: https://injoys.com/en/articles/ckd-doenjang-soup-sugary-drinks-diet-guide
published_at: 2026-08-16T21:57:31+09:00
---

# Why Cut Back on Doenjang Soup and Sugary Drinks When Your Kidneys Are Unhealthy

> Cutting back on doenjang soup and sugary drinks can greatly help reduce sodium and added sugar intake. However, this alone is not sufficient dietary management for every patient with chronic kidney disease; what needs to be adjusted varies by disease stage, test results, medications, and dialysis status.

## Key Points

- A chronic kidney disease diet should focus not on completely eliminating salt and sugar, but on reducing excessive intake while maintaining nutritional status.
- Cutting back on doenjang soup, stews, salted seafood, and pickled vegetables helps reduce sodium intake in a Korean-style diet.
- Replacing sugary drinks such as soda, sweetened coffee, and sweet tea with water or unsweetened beverages can effectively reduce added sugar intake.
- Whether cutting out doenjang soup and sugary drinks is sufficient depends on blood pressure, blood sugar, swelling, potassium and phosphorus levels, nutritional status, and dialysis status.
- Potassium, phosphorus, protein, and fluids should not be uniformly restricted for every patient, but adjusted according to test results and prescriptions from their healthcare team.

When people are told that their kidneys are not functioning well, it is easy to assume that they must completely eliminate salt, sugar, and protein. In practice, the key to management is not banning every food but **changing the dietary habits with the greatest impact first and adjusting only the necessary items according to test results**.

Eating less doenjang soup or stew and cutting out sugary drinks are practical and effective starting points. However, because the stages and causes of chronic kidney disease vary, these two changes alone should not be assumed to be sufficient for everyone.

## Myth and Fact: Should Salt and Sugar Be Eliminated Completely?

**Myth:** If your kidneys are unhealthy, you must completely eliminate salt and sugar.

**Fact:** In general, the goal is to reduce excessive intake rather than eliminate them completely. Starting with items that are easy to consume repeatedly in large amounts, such as soups and sugar-sweetened beverages, can reduce the burden of calculating every part of every meal.

| Category | Extreme Interpretation to Avoid | Practical Management Principle |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | Consume no salt at all | Reduce soups, stews, pickled foods, and processed foods, and manage total daily intake |
| Sugar | Ban all fruit and carbohydrates | First reduce drinks and snacks high in added sugar, and follow a blood glucose management plan if you have diabetes |
| Protein | Unconditionally eliminate meat, fish, and beans | Consume an appropriate amount based on disease stage, body weight, nutritional status, and whether you are receiving dialysis |
| Potassium and phosphorus | Restrict both immediately after a kidney disease diagnosis | Check blood test results, medications, and dialysis status, and adjust them only when necessary |

A salt-free diet or excessive protein restriction may lead to reduced food intake and poor nutrition. It is especially important for older adults, people who are losing weight, and dialysis patients not to reduce their food intake on their own.

## What Changes When You Eat Less Doenjang Soup?

Doenjang itself is not a prohibited food. The issue is that doenjang soup and doenjang stew may contain added salt, soy sauce, and seasonings in addition to doenjang, and consuming an entire bowl of broth can easily increase sodium intake. The actual sodium content of a dish varies greatly depending on how it is prepared and how much is consumed.

Excessive sodium intake can cause the body to retain more fluid, potentially worsening high blood pressure or swelling. For people with chronic kidney disease, blood pressure management is an important part of managing both declining kidney function and cardiovascular risk.

The KDIGO 2024 clinical practice guideline for chronic kidney disease generally suggests a daily sodium intake of less than 2 g, equivalent to approximately less than 5 g of salt. This is the combined amount of sodium from all sources, including not only salt added to food but also doenjang, soy sauce, and processed foods. However, there are exceptions, such as salt-wasting nephropathy, for which this standard should not be applied as written.

### Practical Ways to Change Soup Consumption

- If you eat doenjang soup or stew at every meal, first reduce how often you have it.
- Focus on eating the solid ingredients rather than the broth, and leave the broth behind.
- Measure the doenjang and soy sauce, and do not add overlapping amounts of salt or seasonings.
- Enhance flavor with green onions, garlic, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, and similar ingredients.
- Do not combine other high-sodium foods, such as salted seafood, pickled vegetables, ramen, ham, or instant soup, in the same meal.
- For packaged foods, check both the sodium content and serving size on the nutrition label.

Low-sodium salt or potassium salt may contain less sodium than regular salt, but many products contain potassium. If your blood potassium level is high or you take medications that can raise potassium, it is safer not to substitute these products without consulting your healthcare team.

## Why Cutting Out Sugary Drinks Is Effective

Carbonated beverages, fruit-flavored drinks, sweetened coffee, sweet tea, and energy drinks can contain large amounts of added sugar relative to how quickly they are consumed. Because sugar in liquid form is easy to consume repeatedly out of habit, cutting back can lower added sugar and calorie intake without changing the entire meal plan.

Reducing sugary drinks is particularly important for people with diabetes, obesity, or metabolic risk. This is because diabetes and high blood pressure are major causes of chronic kidney disease and factors that can worsen it. Some colas and processed beverages may contain phosphate additives, so patients who need to manage their blood phosphorus levels should also check the ingredient list.

### What Can You Drink Instead?

- Water or unsweetened beverages within the range permitted by your healthcare team
- Tea without sugar or syrup
- Coffee without syrup instead of sweetened coffee
- A specified amount of fresh fruit instead of fruit-flavored drinks

Fruit juice cannot be consumed freely simply because it is 100% juice. Sugar and potassium may be concentrated, and the amount consumed can increase quickly. Sugar-free drinks also vary in their sodium, phosphate additive, and caffeine content, so their labels should be checked.

## Who May Find Two Changes Sufficient—and Who May Not

If doenjang soup and sugary drinks were major sources of sodium and added sugar in your usual diet, changing just these two habits may substantially reduce your intake. However, the effect depends on your existing diet, so it cannot be guaranteed that every patient will meet their target levels.

Additional individualized management is likely to be needed if any of the following apply:

- Blood pressure remains high, or swelling in the legs or face worsens
- You have diabetes or your blood glucose is not well controlled
- Blood potassium or phosphorus levels are outside the normal range
- Urine output has decreased, or fluid restriction has been prescribed
- You are receiving dialysis or preparing to begin dialysis
- You are losing weight and muscle or have a reduced appetite
- You also have a condition that affects fluid management, such as heart failure or liver disease

Chronic kidney disease may have no noticeable symptoms in its early stages. Test results such as estimated glomerular filtration rate, urine albumin, blood pressure, blood glucose, potassium, and phosphorus are more important for determining the direction of management than whether you feel well.

## Protein, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Fluids Must Be Assessed Separately

### Protein

For adults with stage 3–5 chronic kidney disease who are not receiving dialysis, KDIGO generally suggests maintaining protein intake at approximately 0.8 g per kilogram of body weight per day and avoiding high protein intake exceeding 1.3 g/kg. However, growing children, pregnant women, and people who are frail or malnourished require a different approach. Dialysis patients may actually need a higher intake because of protein loss.

### Potassium

There is no need to eliminate all potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, and beans, immediately after diagnosis. Blood potassium is affected not only by kidney function but also by medications, constipation, blood glucose, and acid-base status. If testing confirms hyperkalemia, food types, preparation methods, and portions should be adjusted individually.

### Phosphorus

If blood phosphorus is high, processed meats, beverages containing phosphate additives, and processed foods can be reviewed first. Phosphorus in the form of food additives is absorbed relatively well, so it is useful to check the ingredient list for terms such as phosphoric acid and phosphate. Excessive restriction of whole foods may result in inadequate protein and energy intake.

### Fluids

You should not automatically drink large amounts of water or, conversely, restrict fluids simply because you have chronic kidney disease. Fluid requirements vary depending on urine output, swelling, heart health, and dialysis status. If fluid restriction has been prescribed, soups, beverages, ice, and other foods that become liquid at room temperature may be included in the total amount.

## A Two-Week Review to Try Before Calculating Every Meal

Rather than beginning with a strict meal plan, reviewing your usual intake patterns can make it easier to prioritize changes.

1. For one week, record how often you eat soups, stews, salted seafood, and pickled vegetables.
2. During the same period, record the types and amounts of sugary drinks you consume, including carbonated beverages, sweetened coffee, and juice.
3. During the following week, reduce the frequency and amount of broth you consume by about half, and replace sugary drinks with unsweetened beverages.
4. Record your weight and blood pressure under the same conditions as usual, but do not change prescribed medications on your own.
5. At your appointment, show your records and photos of food labels, and set the next goals based on your blood and urine test results.

If your weight suddenly increases or you develop swelling and shortness of breath, contact a healthcare provider rather than continuing the dietary experiment. Severe difficulty breathing, chest pain, changes in consciousness, severe muscle weakness, or an irregular heartbeat may require emergency evaluation.

## Key Takeaway

Avoiding doenjang soup and sugary drinks is a good way to simplify the first steps of a complex chronic kidney disease diet. In particular, people who frequently consumed soups and sugar-sweetened beverages can meaningfully reduce their sodium and added sugar intake.

However, these two habits are not a substitute for all dietary management. Protein, electrolytes, and fluids must be individualized based on blood pressure, blood glucose, kidney function, urine protein, potassium and phosphorus levels, nutritional status, and dialysis status. The safest principle is to **start by making simple changes to major habits while determining the extent of restrictions based on test results**.

## FAQ

### If my kidneys are not healthy, do I need to stop eating doenjang soup completely?
You do not necessarily have to stop eating it completely. However, doenjang soup and stew can be high in sodium depending on how they are prepared and how much broth you consume, so it can be helpful to reduce the frequency and amount and eat mainly the solid ingredients.

### Is avoiding only doenjang soup and sugary drinks enough to manage a chronic kidney disease diet?
If these two foods were major sources of sodium and added sugar in your usual diet, avoiding them can be very helpful, but it is not enough for every patient. Additional adjustments may be needed depending on blood pressure, blood sugar, swelling, potassium and phosphorus levels, nutritional status, and whether you are on dialysis.

### How much salt should a patient with chronic kidney disease consume per day?
The KDIGO 2024 clinical practice guideline generally suggests less than 2 g of sodium per day, which is equivalent to about 5 g of salt. This is the total amount, including not only salt added at the table but also sodium in doenjang, soy sauce, and processed foods. There are exceptions, such as sodium-wasting conditions, so your individualized prescription should take priority.

### Can I drink fruit juice instead of consuming sugar?
Even 100% fruit juice can lead to consuming a large amount of sugar and potassium in a short time. If you need to manage your blood sugar or potassium, a specified amount of fresh fruit may be better than juice, and you should check your individual allowance with your healthcare team.

### Is low-sodium salt safe for patients with chronic kidney disease?
Many low-sodium salt products use potassium chloride. It can be dangerous for people with high blood potassium levels or those taking medications associated with increased potassium, so it is safer not to use it in place of regular salt without consulting your healthcare team.

### If my kidneys are not healthy, do I need to stop eating both bananas and tomatoes?
Not all patients with chronic kidney disease need to uniformly restrict potassium-rich foods. Blood potassium levels, medications, constipation, blood sugar, and kidney function should be reviewed together, and the types and amounts consumed should be adjusted only when necessary.

### If I have chronic kidney disease, is it good to drink a lot of water?
Drinking a lot of water does not restore damaged kidney function. The amount of fluid needed varies depending on urine output, swelling, heart condition, and whether you are on dialysis, so you should not increase or restrict it on your own.

### Should patients with kidney disease avoid protein?
Completely eliminating protein can lead to muscle loss and poor nutrition. Protein requirements differ between patients with chronic kidney disease who are not yet on dialysis and those receiving dialysis, and intake should be adjusted according to body weight, disease stage, and nutritional status.

## Sources

- [KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease](https://kdigo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KDIGO-2024-CKD-Guideline.pdf)
- [World Health Organization: Salt reduction](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction)
- [NIDDK: Healthy Eating for Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease](https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd/eating-nutrition)

## Images

![Kidneys with arrows away from soup and soda and toward water and a balanced meal](https://injoys.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6ODU2MiwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--32a55ef1bbed32be0f4bdb70d4a69fecde195fcf/ai-3336b7d5.webp)
![Kidneys and dialysis machine above contrasting meals of salty soup and soda versus fish, vegetables, and water](https://injoys.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6ODU2OCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--c50cd3551f6c4af20faa83127656854df25ad04c/ai-6b433614.webp)