High Purine Foods

Content

• How To Help Prevent Gout Symptoms
• How Does Food Affect Gout?
• What Is Gout? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, And Prevention
• What Dietary Changes Can You Make?
• You Can't Avoid All Purines

Uric acid levels tend to be higher in people who regularly consume sugar-sweetened drinks. Those drinking one to two sugar-sweetened soft drinks a day are almost twice as likely to have gout as those who drink only one a month. Having two or more daily serves of dairy, especially from reduced fat and skimmed milk, confers a 42-48% lower risk of gout compared to less than one serve. Purine is broken down in the liver, producing uric acid as a byproduct. Uric acid enters the bloodstream, travels to the kidneys and is excreted in urine.

Note this is just an example I’ve selected, and you can find much more extensive lists on Goutpal or here. Organ meats, known as Offal, contain by far the most purines of any food in the human diet. There was another similar study that found even greater risks associated with meat intake, but none for seafood. Overall this suggests seafood is far less of a concern than meat .

How To Help Prevent Gout Symptoms

Frequent alcohol intake is known to cause chronic hyperuricemia, increasing the risk of gout and gout attacks. Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects one joint or multiple joints at a time. It’s a good idea to drink lots of fluids -- 8 to 16 cups a day. Vitamin C also can help lower uric acid, but studies also show that the high fructose in OJ may boost uric acid levels, so drink it in moderation. Caffeinated coffee can cut uric acid, too, as long as you don’t overdo it. Following a gout diet can help limit uric acid production and increase its elimination.

How Does Food Affect Gout?

In some people uric acid is not processed properly and the levels in the bloodstream can get too high. When this happens the molecule can form small crystals that deposit in joints causing a painful arthritis known as gout. Gout occurs when urate crystals form in the body’s joints, which leads to inflammation.

There are no foods that can completely prevent the symptoms of gout, but a diet low in purines may help to reduce the frequency of attacks. Following a nutritionally balanced, healthy diet that is low in saturated and trans fats and rich in unprocessed foods can help to reduce the risk of gout attacks. Care needs to be taken with certain vegetables such as asparagus, beans, cauliflower, lentils, mushrooms and spinach as these contain medium levels of purines. There are various reasons why alcohol can trigger gout attacks.

What Is Gout? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, And Prevention

Seafood�Seafood often has high levels of purine, but Mayo Clinic notes that the benefits of eating seafood generally outweigh the risk of gout attacks. Still, you might want to avoid anchovies, shellfish and sardines. Patients with gout are generally advised to include both animal and vegetable sources of protein in their diet.

It often develops in the foot, especially the big toe area, although it can manifest in other parts of the body as well. Gout can make walking and standing very painful and is especially common in diabetics and the obese. Many dietitians recommend consuming at least 64 ounces of water daily and more if you are exercising. Water helps the body transport nutrients and waste, regulates body temperature and cushions joints and tissues. Research also suggests that drinking adequate water might guard against kidney stones and constipation.

Research Says This Is The Best Diet For Healthy Aging, In Case You're Curious

Sugar-sweetened beverages can increase uric acid levels in the blood. A 2020 review of studies found that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was significantly associated with an increased risk of gout and hyperuricemia in adults. Foods that are high in purines, which are a type of protein, can contribute to gout flare-ups. Part of gout prevention is limiting or entirely avoiding these high-risk foods. Certain types of seafood, like anchovies, herring, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout, haddock, mackerel, and tuna, have high purine levels and should be avoided as well. Even some poultry, especially goose, should be keep to an absolute minimum.

Can you eat bread with gout?

White bread, pasta and noodles
Refined carbohydrates are safe to eat for gout sufferers because they have a low purine content. But too much consumption of refined carbohydrates can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and increase one's risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

A gout diet isn't likely to lower the uric acid concentration in your blood enough to treat your gout without medication. But it may help decrease the number of attacks and limit their severity. Studies have shown that vegetables high in purines, such as asparagus and spinach, don't increase the risk of gout or recurring gout attacks. Gout is a painful form of arthritis that occurs when high levels of uric acid in the blood cause crystals to form and accumulate in and around a joint.

Gout Topics

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. Some nutritionists recommend eight cups a day of liquids, at least half of them being water. A new study challenges the perception that gout is the result of gluttony and overindulgence in food and drink.

That’s probably because many of the risk factors associated with gout—diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure—tend to also rise as we age. About 2/3 of purines in the body are endogenous.1 These purines are produced by the human body and found inside its cells. A body’s cells are in a constant state of death and renewal,2 and the endogenous purines from damaged, dying, or dead cells must be processed by the body.

In addition, it may have a beneficial effect on associated co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and insulin resistance. There are a variety of factors that contribute to gout developing, and what you put into your body, unsurprisingly, affects the development of this disease. While there may not be foods that cause gout on their own, certain diets increase the likelihood of initial gout onset, as well as recurring episodes. Also, limit foods high in sugar—especially high fructose corn syrup.

You Can't Avoid All Purines

Some individuals will have hyperuricemia and never develop gout, while some individuals do not have unusually high levels of uric acid in their blood during a gout attack. For these reasons, a blood test alone cannot confirm a gout diagnosis. When you hear people talk about gout and diet, they’re most likely talking about purines—substances that are found in foods high in protein.