Last updated: 26 July 2026
Get in touch
Email info@hertskidneycare.co.uk and we will normally reply within a few working days.
It helps enormously if you say which iPhone or iPad you are using, which version of iOS, and what you were doing when the problem happened.
If you are unwell
This app gives general information about food. It cannot help with a medical problem, and nobody monitors it for clinical questions.
If you feel unwell, if you are losing weight without trying, or if you are worried about a blood result, contact your own kidney team, your GP or your local urgent care service. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
What the app does
You answer some questions about your kidney treatment, your blood results and how you eat. The app then builds a personal eating plan: what to go easy on and what to choose instead, the foods that interact with your medicines, safety notes for your particular combination of restrictions, and recipes that fit.
All of that is free. There is no account and no sign in.
Premium is a single one off purchase that adds convenience features: saved favourites with your own notes, shopping lists, a weekly meal planner, the food label checker, the eating out guide and PDF export.
Common questions
I paid for Premium but it is locked, or I have a new phone
Open the app, go to any Premium feature, and tap Restore purchase on the screen that appears. Make sure you are signed in to the same Apple Account you bought it with. The purchase is a one off and covers all your devices using that Apple Account.
The protein target looks wrong for me
Check the protein setting in your plan. Before dialysis the usual advice is a normal or lower protein intake. On dialysis it reverses, and the target rises to roughly 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg a day, which is the Higher protein option. If you are on dialysis and have not selected it, the app will say so in your safety notes. Your renal dietitian's figure is the one that counts.
Why does the app not tell me how much to drink
Because the right answer is opposite for different people. Someone who forms kidney stones or has a transplant is usually asked to drink more. Someone on dialysis, or with heart failure or swelling, is usually asked to drink considerably less. Guessing between the two could do real harm, so the app asks you to get that figure from your own team.
The label checker did not find anything. Is the food safe?
No, and the app says so on that screen. Finding no additives is not the same as the food being suitable for you. The checker reports which ingredients it recognised and why each one matters. It never gives a food a pass or a fail, because that would be a decision about your treatment rather than a piece of information.
Can I scan a barcode?
Only as a shortcut to a packet you have already photographed on this device. A barcode is just a number and carries no ingredient information, and we deliberately do not use a shared database, because serving you an ingredients list transcribed from somebody else's camera would be unsafe and would end the app's privacy position. Photograph the panel once, and the barcode will bring it straight back next time.
A cached label is showing an old ingredients list
Products get reformulated. Anything cached for more than 180 days is flagged in red with a prompt to photograph it again, and the age is always shown. You can delete any cached product, or clear the lot, from the scanned products list.
How do I delete my data?
Delete the app from your device and everything it stored goes with it. There is nothing held on any server, so there is nothing for us to delete at our end and nothing to request. You can also clear individual items, such as cached food labels, from inside the app.
Can I use it for a child?
No. The app is written for adults, and the equation it uses to estimate energy needs is not validated below 18. Dietary advice for children with kidney disease is genuinely different and should come from a paediatric kidney team.
Can I use it instead of seeing a dietitian?
No, and it says so throughout. It is designed to make the conversation with your dietitian better, not to replace it. Print or export your plan and take it to your next appointment. The most useful question you can ask is which of your restrictions you still need, and which can come off.
Privacy in one line
Everything you enter stays on your device. There is no account, no server, no analytics and no tracking. The full detail is in the privacy policy.
About
The Kidney Food Plan app is published by Patient Thread Ltd, registered in England and Wales, Company No. 17167409. Its clinical content is written by Dr Christopher Lawrence, Consultant Nephrologist, of Herts Kidney Care.
The same plan is available free in your browser at hertskidneycare.co.uk/kidney-diet-planner.
The app provides general dietary education. It does not diagnose, monitor or treat any condition, it does not replace advice from your own kidney team, and it is not a regulated medical device.