There are two types of diets for kidney disease. One type of diet is specifically for people who have progressive chronic renal failure, or kidney failure, but are not on dialysis yet. Along with medicine, a low-protein diet may slow the worsening of kidney failure. The other more restrictive type of diet is for people on dialysis whose kidneys have totally failed and are no longer working at all. This is called end stage renal disease, or ESRD.