Gout Diet: Dos And Donts
Maintaining a balanced diet, low in uric acid, is critical for lowering the risk of a gout attack. Learn which foods and beverages you should eat and which ones to avoid.
1. What You Eat and Drink Matters
2. DO: Drink Water
3. DONT: Drink Beer
4. DO: Drink Milk
5. DONT: Drink Liquor
6. DO: Drink Coffee
7. DONT: Drink Soda
8. Do: Eat Citrus
9. DONT: Eat Organ Meats
10. DO: Eat Vegetable Proteins
11. DONT: Eat Certain Seafood
12. DO: Eat Cherries
Nutrition
The Cause Of Gout Is More Than Just Diet
While diet is critical, dont overlook other important factors that affect gout. These include family history, sleep apnoea, and lack of physical exercise to name a few.
Further discussion of best treatment for gout is outside the scope of this article. But there are foods thought to be protective namely dairy, cherries, and coffee, in decreasing order of evidence.
And as much as I prefer focusing on what you should eat to prevent health scares, there are just so many clear trigger foods for gout.
Its important to deal with these factors first and foremost.
About Joe Leech, Dietitian
Joe Leech is a university-qualified dietitian from Australia.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in exercise science, followed by a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics in 2011.
Learn more about him on the About page.
Joe Leech, Dietitian
The Best Foods For Gout
Gout is a painful form of arthritis that often occurs in the big toe joint . Its symptoms are brought on by high levels of uric acid in the blood. Those high levels cause crystals to form that then accumulate in and around a joint in your parents body.
If your parent has a history of gout, following a strict gout diet may help his body decrease the uric acid levels in his blood. Uric acid is what is produced when the body breaks down a chemical called purine. While purine occurs naturally in the body, its also found in certain foods.
The next time your parent goes grocery shopping with his home care provider, give them this list of foods to say YES to and foods to say NO to.
Say YES to these foods and beverages:
Say NO to these foods and beverages:
Your parent may still need medication to treat his gout, but a diet rich in healthy foods that avoids triggering foods, will decrease the number of gout flare ups he has and reduce their intensity.
If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Home Care in South Pasadena, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.
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Alcohol Is The Biggest Risk Factor For Gout
It is well-established that frequent alcohol intake dramatically increases risk of gout .
The Framingham Heart Study of over 4,500 participants provides some perspective.
Researchers found that regular alcohol use was associated with three times greater risk of gout in women compared to those who have less than 2 standard drinks per week. For men, regular drinkers had double the risk of non-drinkers .
Beer seems to be the worst, followed by hard liquors such as spirits. Interestingly, moderate wine consumption is not linked with any risk .
The reason why alcohol increases uric acid levels is still not well-understood. Some forms, particularly beer, can be high in purines but they are certainly not the richest source of purines in our diet.
Additional theories propose that excessive alcohol may also reduce the bodys ability to excrete uric acid. Others state that alcohol especially beer increases the chemical breakdown of purine-containing ATP nucleotides, which is a precursor of uric acid production .
Summary: Regular alcohol intake severely raises uric acid levels in the blood. It doubles, if not triples your risk of gout.
Eating To Avoid Gout Attacks
Dr. Tran can put together a personalized treatment strategy to help manage your gout symptoms. These therapies typically include medications and topical pain relievers to help keep you comfortable. He also recommends making the following dietary changes:
- Drinking plenty of water
- Eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
- Reducing saturated fats like red meat, fatty poultry, and high-fat dairy products
- Consuming healthy proteins like lean meats, lentils, and low-fat dairy
Its also important to take steps to reach and maintain a healthy weight. In fact, reducing the calories you consume when combined with weight loss can help lower uric acids and gout attacks, even without limiting the purine-rich foods in your diet.
If you have gout, Dr. Tran can help you manage your symptoms. Contact AllCare Foot & Ankle Center and schedule an appointment in Arlington or Dallas, Texas.
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Does Fructose Cause Gout
Fructose is a sugar that is found in fruits and vegetables. It is also found in high levels in foods sweetened with corn syrup, such as bread, cereal, soft drinks and fruit juices. An American study found that men who drank five to six servings of fructose-sweetened soft drinks per week were more likely to have gout. However there is no research showing that fructose actually causes gout. Cutting down the amount of food artificially sweetened with high fructose corn syrup may be beneficial for your overall health. However naturally occurring fructose in fruit and vegetables also provides general health benefits and should not be completely avoided without advice from your doctor or dietitian.
Avoid These Foods If You Have Gout
Our roundup of the 5 worst foods for goutthe worst offenders also happen to be common in Western diets, so youve got your work cut out for you! If youre here, we can probably assume that you know gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that develops when theres too much uric acid in the blood.
The uric acid forms needle-like crystals that build up in the big toe joint causing intense pain, swelling, and stiffness. It is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis for men, although it also occurs in some women who are postmenopausal.
Thankfully, gout is a manageable condition and there are several things you can do to help lessen its symptoms. In addition to medications that treat the inflammation and prevent the formation of uric acid crystals, it also helps if you can avoid these top five foods which are bad for gout.
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What Are The 10 Worst Foods For Gout: What You Should Know
Gout is becoming more and more common and its one of the worst issues to have
So I fully understand why youre interested in What Are The 10 Worst Foods For Gout.
Nonetheless
Im working on a brand new video to go over What Are The 10 Worst Foods For Gout in detail!
So I apologize for the delay.
Please however, this post may be really beneficial to you because well be going over
- What is Gout & can you get rid of it?
- How thousands of people have stopped gout pains
So lets get into it. Sound good?
Perfect.
Shellfish Crustacea And Mollusks
There are two groups of shellfish, crustacea and mollusks. Crustacea includes crabs, shrimp, crayfish and lobsters. Mollusks are oysters, clams, oysters, mussels, squid, scallops and snails.
Which shellfish group is higher gout risk? There is no big difference. A purine table from a 2014 Japanese study included a comprehensive list of different shellfish and seafood. It listed oysters, shrimp and certain squid with similar purine content.
The research also determined different species can have different purine concentrations. For example, a snow crab had more purines than a king crab.
Most of the medical experts recommend to limit the portions to an unfulfilling 4-6 ounces. An amount which most of us can easily eat more of if not aware.
Insight: Even after realizing different shellfish have different purine amounts, shellfish is still the most unpredictable food group to gauge gout for me. On some occasions, I would eat a small amount of crabs, and end up with a terrible flare up in my ankle. Then another time, I would eat about twice as calamari and not feel any symptoms. My uric acid level at the time may have been a factor, but he unpredictability made me reduce my shellfish intake. However, I learned to prepare myself when I want to satisfy a craving.
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What Is Gout And What Causes It
Before we can look at foods to avoid with gout, it is necessary to briefly understand what it is.
Gout is a form of joint inflammation, caused by excessive uric acid in circulation .
When the bodys natural uric acid threshold is exceeded, painful crystals can form in and around the joints. These crystals trigger the characteristic symptoms and pain.
Not everybody with high uric acid levels will get gout, but those who do always have high uric acid levels. This indicates there are other factors at play, but from a dietary perspective uric acid is the focus.
Excessive uric acid in the blood stream is typically driven by two factors: genetic predisposition and the ingestion of high-purine foods. Obviously, the dietary factor we can control.
When purines we eat are broken down and metabolised by the body, uric acid is formed as a by-product of this process. Its normal and healthy for uric acid to be formed, but excessive amounts are problematic.
Therefore, consuming less purine-rich foods should lower uric acid levels in your blood, lowering gout risk.
At least, in theory.
Its actually not that clear-cut because other nutrients appear to aggravate gout symptoms too
Heres a list of foods to avoid if you have gout, based on real scientific evidence.
Should I Cut Out Purine
There is very little scientific proof that avoiding the purine-rich foods listed above can successfully reduce gout attacks. You may miss out on important nutrients and vitamins by completely cutting these foods from your diet.
If you notice certain foods trigger your gout attacks, you may benefit from cutting down the amounts of those foods in your diet. However not all purine-rich foods are thought to cause gout. For example, a number of vegetables are also rich in purines but appear less likely to cause gout than diets containing meat and shellfish.
Dairy foods, which can contain purines, actually appear to lower the risk of gout. For most people with gout, a healthy balanced diet is all that is needed, alongside medicines to reduce uric acid levels. Most people taking medicines to reduce uric acid levels find they can still eat purine-rich foods without attacks of gout by being careful with the quantity they eat.
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List Of 19 Foods High In Purines For Gout Sufferers To Avoid
Being in many various types of food, purines are broken down in order to produce uric acid, which is a substance in our body. Nonetheless, when you eat too many foods high in purines, you will run the risk of raising the uric acid levels, which can lead to health problems such as kidney disease or gout. To stay healthy, it is very important for you to identify these ingredients as well as limit their intake in the diet.
In the framework of this writing, AllRemedies.com will introduce to you list of 19 foods high in purines which can help you avoid consuming them and thus prevent gout. Continue reading this article to understand more!
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Soups Broths And Gravies
Meat-based soups, broths, and gravies could be a double-whammy for people with gout, Stefanski says. Thats due to their high sodium content and purines.
These types of foods might not be totally off-limits, however. Instead, swap meat-heavy soup and broth for veggie-heavy options. A hearty lentil soup with antioxidant-rich veggies is lower in purines and can help lower inflammation.
But what about that Thanksgiving gravy? Try this delicious mushroom-based gravy to pour over your mashed potatoes.
Contrary to popular belief, mushrooms are actually OK to eat if you have gout. Keep reading to find out why.
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What Is Syndrome X
Syndrome X is the most common cause of inability to lose weight. It mostly occurs in people with excess abdominal fat. Syndrome X also goes by the names metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance basically means that the hormone insulin, which is made by your pancreas has become less effective at controlling your blood sugar. This makes you prone to symptoms of unstable blood sugar, such as fatigue, sugar cravings and feeling unwell if you havent eaten for several hours.
Syndrome X reduces the ability of the body to excrete uric acid. This makes a person more prone to suffering a gout attack. Your doctor can order a blood test for you to check your uric acid level.
Certain Meats And Seafood
Not all sources of purine are equal when managing gout, and research suggests certain purines can make gout worse.
Studies show that hypoxanthine purines, found in meat and fish, have a stronger effect on on purine production compared to other types of purine, says Nichole Dandrea MS, RDN, and author of The Fiber Effect: Stop Counting Calories and Start Counting Fiber For Better Health, referencing research in the BMJ.
Yet not all meats and seafood are off-limits. Some are just worse for gout symptoms than others.
Dr. Siaton recommends people with gout pass on red meats such as lamb, beef, and pork. Organ and glandular meats such as liver, tripe, and sweetbread have high purine content, too.
As for seafood, trout, haddock, codfish, anchovies, sardines, herring, mussels, and scallops are higher-purine options to avoid.
You might be able to tolerate moderately high-purine seafood such as crab, lobster, oysters, and shrimp. But make sure to limit consumption.
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Most Soy Should Be Fine
Soy foods like tofu, soy milk, and edamame have moderate amounts of purines. Traditionally doctors have cautioned against eating too much soy for people with gout. One study found that soybeans, soymilk, and soy powder increased uric acid in the blood significantly. However, larger population studies have recently told a different story. Several have reported that not only are soy products harmless for gout patients, but also people who eat more soy tend to have a reduced gout risk.
How Can I Manage My Gout And Improve My Quality Of Life
Gout affects many aspects of daily living, including work and leisure activities. Fortunately, there are many low-cost self-management strategies that are proven to improve the quality of life of people with gout.
For gout in particular:
- Eat a healthy diet. Avoid foods that may trigger a gout flare, including foods high in purines , and limit alcohol intake .
CDCs Arthritis Program recommends five self-management strategies for managing arthritis and its symptoms. These can help with gout as well.
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Alcohol Because Of The Yeast
Alcohol was on the avoid or high-risk list by every major health source referenced. Abstaining from drinking could be a tough ask for many. The point here is there is plenty of scientific evidence confirming drinking alcohol directly increases uric acid levels that induces gout.
Yeast, in general, contains a high amount of purines. The most common gout triggers made with yeast are beer, liquor, wine, cider, marmite, vegemite, processed meats, cured meats, and extracts.
Brewerâs yeast is used to make drinking alcohol. It is the main ingredient that contains purines. Beer gets the bulk of its purine content from brewerâs yeast, which has about three times the purines as bakerâs yeast.
Some sources stated that wine is less of a risk than beer and liquor. However, a 2015 study published by the American Journal of Medicine stated otherwise.
Episodic alcohol consumption, regardless of type of alcoholic beverage, was associated with an increased risk of recurrent gout attacks, including potentially with moderate amounts. Individuals with gout should limit alcohol intake of all types to reduce the risk of recurrent gout attacks.
-Am J Med. Author manuscript available in PMC 2015 Apr 1.
Another point was that drinking alcohol hinders the kidneysâ ability to remove waste products such as uric acid. Drinking alcohol can also cause dehydration, which leads to unnecessary uric acid production.
Sugary Drinks And Food
Purine is not the only thing that can be broken down into uric acid. Fructose that is found in sugar can also lead to painful gout attacks. The average American consumes between 22 to 30 teaspoons of sugar every day, and it can be incredibly difficult to cut out entirely. Avoiding anything with high fructose corn syrup such as sodas can help lower that amount. Fruit juice should also be consumed in lower quantities, although normal fresh fruits are still fine.
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