Welcome to our blog. Here you will find an extensive library full of helpful tips, tricks and ideas for you to consider when working with food allergies, sensitivities or intolerances.
Bad Food For Gout
Skip foods and drinks that are high in purines to help lower your chances of an attack.
You should stay away from these types of food:
- Beer and grain liquors (like vodka and whiskey)
- Red meat, lamb, and pork
- Organ meats, such as liver, kidneys, and glandular meats like the thymus or pancreas (you may hear them called sweetbreads)
- Seafood, especially shellfish like shrimp, lobster, mussels, anchovies, and sardines
- High-fructose products like soda and some juices, cereal, ice cream, candy, and fast food
Best Foods for a Gout Diet
You’ll want to go for low-purine options like:
- Low-fat and nondairy fat products, such as yogurt and skim milk
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Nuts, peanut butter, and grains
- Fat and oil
- Potatoes, rice, bread, and pasta
- Eggs (in moderation)
- Meats like fish, chicken, and red meat are fine in moderation (around 4 to 6 ounces per day).
- Vegetables: You may see veggies like spinach and asparagus on the high-purine list, but studies show they don’t raise your risk of gout or gout attacks.
What Can You Drink if You Have Gout?
Foods aren’t the only thing that can affect uric acid. What you drink matters, too.
Dos
It’s a good idea to drink lots of fluids — 8 to 16 cups a day. At least half of what you drink should be water. Vitamin C (think orange juice) 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.
Don’ts
Stay away from sugary drinks like soda and fruit juice. You also may need to limit or avoid alcohol as well. Talk with your doctor to find out what’s right for you.
While a healthy diet can help control how much uric acid is in your system, you may still need medicine to prevent future attacks. Talk with your doctor about all your treatment options.
What foods make gout worse?
The top 10 foods and drinks that trigger gout are:
- Sugary drinks and sweets. Standard table sugar is half fructose, which breaks down into uric acid. Any food or drink with higher sugar content can trigger gout.
- High fructose corn syrup. This is a concentrated form of fructose. If you start looking at labels, you’ll find high fructose corn syrup in all kinds of packaged food products that you wouldn’t necessarily expect.
- Alcohol. Even though not all alcoholic drinks are high in purines, alcohol prevents your kidneys from eliminating uric acid, pulling it back into your body, where it continues to accumulate.
- Organ meats. These include liver, tripe sweetbreads, brains and kidneys.
- Game meats. Specialties such as goose, veal and venison are among the reasons why gout was known in the Middle Ages as the “rich man’s disease.”
- Certain seafood, including herring, scallops, mussels, codfish, tuna, trout and haddock.
- Red meats, including beef, lamb pork and bacon.
- Turkey. This leaner meat is nonetheless high in purines. Especially avoid processed deli turkey.
- Gravy and meat sauces.
- Yeast and yeast extract.