Foods Good and Bad For Gout

What foods are allowed and not allowed for gout treatment? Know the gout diet, gout foods to eat and gout causing foods to cure gout. The best home remedy of gout is to make changes in gout patient's diet. It is better to avoid foods that cause gout.

It has been found that a gout diet is the same as the diet for cardiovascular disease. Changes in your diet may lower risk of having future attacks of gout. There are a variety of foods that you should eat to control gout attacks. You should also aim to reduce your weight, if you are overweight.

The American Medical Association recommends the following dietary guidelines for people with gout, eat a diet low in protein, high in complex carbohydrates, high in vitamin C and no more than 30% of calories from fat (with only 10% animal fats).

Foods that cause gout: There are certain foods that can cause gout. Diets high in meat and seafood which are high-purine foods, can raise uric acid levels. So one should avoid such foods. The list of gout causing foods is given below. [Choi HK, et al. Purine-rich foods, dairy and protein intake, and the risk of gout in men. New England Journal of Medicine, 350: 1093 (2004). ]

1. Avoid foods very high in purines: The following foods can raise your risk of gout.

   High purine seafood: The worst seafoods for people with gout are codfish, haddock, anchovies, herring, mussels, mackerel, scallops, sardines and trout. However, salmon may be eaten by a person with gout.
   Meats: lamb, bacon, beef, pork, hearts, liver, kidneys, sweetbreads, brains
   Anchovies, sardines, herring, mackerel, scallops
   Beer
   Yeast

2. Avoid Alcohol: Heavy alcohol drinkers, especially beer can cause an increase of uric acid.
3. Avoid fasting or very low-calorie diets because they increase the uric acid production by the body.

Foods High in Purines But Safe

1. Foods moderately high in purines, but safe for gout: Purines are found in all protein foods. But all high purine foods and protein foods are not bad.
   The following foods are high in purines but do not pose any risk for gout. But if you are a gout patient, you should limit their consumption.
   Vegetables: asparagus, beans, peas, cauliflower, mushrooms, peas, spinach, whole grain breads, whole grain cereals
   Chich peas,black-eye beans, garbanzo beans, etc. contain purines, but they can be eaten as they don't increase the risk of gout as other plant based high purine foods.Meat: chicken, duck, ham, turkey

Following are the gout foods recommended to eat.

1. Fruits: Bananas; strawberries, blueberries, cherries, Kiwi fruit, mandarins, oranges, red-blue berries
2. Vegetables: Celery, tomato, kale, cabbage, parsley, green-leafy vegetables, red cabbage, red bell peppers, tangerines, mandarins, oranges, potatoes
   Eating celery and black cherries are two popular home remedies to reduce levels of uric acid.
3. Foods high in bromelain: Bromelain is an enzyme that may reduce inflammation, speed healing, relieve pain and swelling. It is found only in pineapple.
4. Low-fat dairy products such as skim milk, yogurt, cheese, butter milk, etc. decrease the risk of gout.
5. Complex carbohydrates: Above mentioned vegetables and fruits and breads, cereals, pasta, rice. It may help to maintain healthy levels of uric acid. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good sources of complex carbohydrates. Avoid refined carbohydrates.
6. Essential fatty acids: Flaxseed, nuts, seeds, tuna and salmon, eggs
7. Other foods: tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, tofu, cherries, turmeric, etc.
8. Drinks: 8 glasses of water per day and carbonated beverages. Maintaining adequate fluid intake helps prevent acute gout attacks and kidney-stone formation in patients with gout.
9. In general, a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet for the gout patient is recommended.
10. Eat a diet for weight reduction if you are obese.

Treating gout is to focus on pain and to avoid its recurrence. It is treated by medications for pain, inflammation and elevated uric acid levels. Besides medications, you should try to eliminate your risk factors for gout to cure it.

1. Pain Management: Avoid using the inflamed joint during the acute attack. Give rest to the affected joint even after 1 day it subsidizes.
   Elevate painful joints. It will give you relie from pain
   
2. Medications: To relieve pain and to decrease joint inflammation, your Doctor may ask you to take medicines such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen (Tylenol), colchicine, corticosteroids, indomethacin (Indocin) or naproxen.
   Take medications for the underlying causes of hyperuricemia and gout, as recommended by your Doctor.
3. Modify your diet. Eat certain foods to avoid gout and discard the foods that cause gout.
4. If you are taking a diuretic medicine for some conditions, then talk to your doctor. This reduce the amount of uric acid eliminated by the kidneys.

References

1. Gout- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. Gout Symptoms - Arthritis Foundation
3. Gout and diet - Arthritis SA
4. Gout - Arthritis & Osteoporosis NSW

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