Fill Your Treat Basket With These Sweets

Those that have chronic kidney disease or are on dialysis already know the battery of items they cannot eat. It's bad enough that chocolate, peanut butter, caramels, and nutty candies are a major no-no for their high levels of potassium and phosphorous, which is why we put together this handy list of kidney-safe candies that you can enjoy or pass out to trick or treaters. Hopefully, by now, you've been schooled by your healthcare professionals on renal-friendly diets, but for the sake of All Hallow's Eve, we want to make sure you get a reasonable serving of sweets to enjoy.

Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears can be enjoyed in moderation due to no traces of potassium, phosphorous, or sodium.

Dum Dums®

A prominent fixture in any Halloween treat bag, Dum Dums are a go-to choice for those with renal issues.

Starburst®

Eight of these sweet, fruity squares contain 1mg of potassium, 2mg of phosphorous, and 15mg of sodium.

Skittles®

Fun fact: the Skittles' "Taste the rainbow" campaign is among one of the longest-running advertising campaigns to date. Those small bags that are sold at holidays are a perfect portion size, but a serving size of 54 candies contains 3mg of potassium, 1mg of phosphorous, and 9mg of sodium.

Sour Patch® Kids®

Like the Gummy Bears, a serving of 21 individual SPK contain no potassium or phosphorous but do contain 30mg of sodium.

Jolly Rancher®

Just three Jolly Ranchers can be enjoyed with the knowledge of <1mg of potassium and phosphorous and 10mg of sodium.

Brach's® Lemon Drops 

Four pieces of this lemony deliciousness contain zero traces of potassium, phosphorous, or sodium at just 70 calories. 

Junior Mints

Okay, not all chocolate is off-limits, so enjoy up to 16 of these minty delights and their no potassium or phosphorous and just 5mg of sodium.

When in doubt, look at the labels on the packaging to see ingredients and to determine if there's a presence of potassium, sodium, or phosphorous. Halloween should be enjoyed by all and having treats you or those with compromised kidney function can enjoy during the festivities can make having kidney disease just a little bit more tolerable. 

Straight out of a science-fiction movie, we may be able to bioprint human organs.