Gout and Diet: Avoid These 53 Purine-Rich Foods

1. Gout is a very painful condition that affects the joints. In the Netherlands there are tens of thousands of people who have been diagnosed with gout. The disease usually manifests itself after the age of 40 and it is more common in men than in women. Usually gout starts as a single gout attack and you will be prescribed anti-inflammatory medication by your doctor.

1. Over time, the gout attacks become more intense and frequent.

1. Over time, toes, fingers and even large joints such as your knees can be affected by gout and the typical gout lumps and deformities of the joints can result if nothing against the condition is done.

2. Over time, toes, fingers and even large joints such as your knees can become affected by gout and the typical gout lumps and deformities of the joints can result if nothing against the condition is done.

1. Risk groups at extra risk for gout are people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease or people with reduced kidney and liver function. Hence, gout is much more common in old age than in young people. The number of people with gout has increased relatively significantly over the past thirty years.

1. On the one hand this is bad news, on the other hand it also offers perspective. Because there are several environmental factors that aggravate gout and that are very easy to avoid, environmental factors that were a lot less common thirty years ago and could therefore explain the increase.

1. A very big factor is nutrition, and I don't just mean food with a high content of purine, other foods also have a negative influence on your uric acid level. You can read exactly how that works in this article and be sure to watch the video version below.

Uric acid

1. The cause of gout is a too high uric acid level. Normally, a healthy person has normal uric acid levels. The uric acid dissolves easily in your warm blood and you have no complaints. However, if your uric acid level is too high, all that uric acid can no longer be absorbed into the blood. Especially in places where the temperature is lower, the uric acid can crystallize. The uric acid then changes from the liquid form to the solid form.

1. Compare it with water, under a certain temperature water freezes and turns into ice.

1. So it is also with uric acid, it goes from liquid to solid. The annoying thing about uric acid is that it forms needle-shaped crystals in its solid form, which is why gout is also extremely painful and causes enormous swelling of the affected area. Usually this affected area is a joint such as a finger or a toe, where the temperature is lower than in the rest of your body.

1. There are, as it were, all kinds of tiny needles in that joint and with every movement those uric acid needles pierce your tissue, causing the tissue to become inflamed and causing you to perish with every movement. pain.

2. There are, as it were, all kinds of small needles in that joint and with every movement those uric acid needles pierce your tissue, which causes the tissue to become inflamed and makes you perish with every movement. pain.

Where does uric acid come from?

1. In the human body, waste is produced by cells. Logically, the body is just like a machine, on the one hand energy comes in in the form of food and on the other hand the waste products come out again. One of those waste products that is released during the breakdown of purine, a substance that returns to the bloodstream through nutrition and through the breakdown of cells in the dreaded uric acid.

1. This conversion of uric acid takes place in the liver. The kidneys, in turn, filter the uric acid from the bloodstream and ensure that you pass the majority of the uric acid out again. Incidentally, one third of the uric acid you do not urinate, but it leaves the body through the stool, something that few people know.

Causes of high uric acid level

1. As you can see, there are two ways in which the uric acid level can get too high. On the one hand, too much uric acid can be produced.

1. Causes of increased uric acid production are:

1. On the other hand, the high uric acid level can be caused by too little uric acid being broken down and therefore the amount of uric acid in your blood accumulates. The problem is not so much that the body produces too much uric acid, but cannot properly process the normal amounts of uric acid. As a result, you still get too high a concentration of uric acid in your blood and the risk of gout is high.

2. On the other hand, the high uric acid level can be caused by too little uric acid being broken down and causing the amount of uric acid in your blood to accumulate. The problem is not so much that the body produces too much uric acid, but cannot properly process the normal amounts of uric acid. As a result, you still get too high a concentration of uric acid in your blood and the risk of gout is high.

1. Factors that determine the extent to which your body can get rid of uric acid are:

1. What is typical is that not everyone is equally sensitive to high uric acid levels. There are people who have excessively high uric acid levels but never develop gout, while others with much lower levels of uric acid in the blood will have one after another gout attack.

1. This just confirms that heredity and thus sensitivity plays an important role in getting gout.

How do I keep my uric acid levels as low as possible

1. First of all, you should of course try to get rid of the cause of gout, if any, as much as possible. So if you have diabetes and gout, keeping your blood sugar under control will have a major impact on your gout.

1. The same applies to factors such as psoriasis, obesity, no longer drinking alcohol and if you stop smoking. But even if you have heart failure, for example, it is important that you do not give up. Despite your disability, try to maintain your fitness level, a better condition results in a longer maintenance of a healthy metabolism.

1. Of course, discuss this with your treating specialist first, you should not overburden yourself!

1. In addition, it is important to keep that annoying uric acid as low as possible. In short, you can say that purine is converted into uric acid and that uric acid must be filtered out of your body by the kidneys. Your kidneys depend on water for proper functioning, so drink plenty of water in the first place.

1. It is not the case that you can only get your uric acid levels down with water, you should see enough water as a precondition for the entire body to function properly.

1. The next step is power. It is now widely known that purine provides uric acid, but what many people forget or are unaware of is that all those sweeteners in our soft drinks and processed food are also fatal for gout, these sugars should be avoided just as much like purine! The problem with the (artificial) sugars is that they are ubiquitous in the supermarket.

1. I am increasingly irritated by the presence of dextrose in just about every foodstuff I take off the shelf (and put back in disappointment). Chicken fillet, turkey fillet, marinated meat, smoked ham; almost all meat contains sugar. Which normal-minded person would put a spoonful of sugar on the chicken on their own? Or a nice ham and cheese sandwich with a scoop of sugar on top? So this is what we do when we leave the preparation of our food to the food industry, everywhere and everywhere these artificial sugars are contained.

1. Not that these foods are at all suitable as a diet if you suffer from gout because of the high amounts of purine, but just to illustrate how the food industry knows how to use sugar in products that simply contain no sugar. hears!

1. The best thing is that you train yourself to simply put the product back on the shelf when there are artificial sugars in products and say to yourself: â € œNo big profits for this brand. at the expense of my health ...

1. Terms by which you can recognize the artificial sugars are:

1. All these ingredients, whether or not in syrup, syrup or any form whatsoever, such as the worst variant HFCS (High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup) that can add delicious sweetness to your soft drink directly lead to increased uric acid levels and trigger a gout attack. Be sensible and avoid all these artificial sugars!

1. In addition, you also have the E-numbers by which you can recognize other artificial sugars derived from natural sugars:

1. The rest of the added sweeteners are classified E950 to E969, I myself don't take these sugars anyway because they don't add anything and if you have gout it is highly recommended to do the same.

1. These sugars also lead to an increase in uric acid, so it is best to avoid all these sweeteners. I know that's easier said than done, especially if you're all the way used to doing quick grocery shopping at the supermarket. My advice is simple in that respect, try to avoid all processed foods, so no ready-made and no pre-packaged meats or soft drinks, jam, cookies, sweets, chips, etc.

1. I even find the dextrose on the back of the organic food packaging, so it is best to eat more unprocessed food.

Also eat poor purine

1. That said, in your quest for low-sugar food, you should not, of course, switch from low-sugar but purine-rich food. To keep your uric acid levels as low as possible, the second strategy is to make sure you don't get unnecessary extra purine into your system through food.

1. The less purine, the less it converts into uric acid. Purine is not indicated on the back of the label and some foods contain an enormous amount of purine, take certain kernels for example, while nuts contain very little purine. You often have to practice before you understand the logic of purine. In general you can assume that vegetables or fruit again contain relatively little purine.

1. In that respect, it's a matter of learning to avoid the biggest purine bombs.

1. You can divide the purine levels of food into three classes:

1. Class 1: 0-75 milligrams of purines per 100 grams of food. It is best to eat this food if you want to eat low purines.

1. Class 2: 75-150 milligrams of purines per 100 grams of food. This is the middle bracket for purines.

1. Class 3: 150-200 milligrams purines per 100 grams of food. You should avoid this food if you are prone to gout.

1. Class 4: “Avoid Total !!!!” 200 milligrams and more.

1. Now these classes aren't going to get you that much further, so I've made a list for you of the 53 purine-rich foods you should avoid anyway. I have listed all foods of which I know the purine content and which exceed 100 milligrams per 150 grams of food. You can use this list in combination with the list in another article that also lists all low-purine products.

1. Again to start with, don't drink alcohol, not even beer!

1. In order not to confuse you, I have mainly focused in this article on the products that you should avoid so that you do not mix up products.

300+ milligrams of purines

1. The foods topping the list are the real purine bombs. The leader of the list contains nearly 1,000 milligrams of purines! Just consider that in a purine-poor diet to prevent gout attacks, try to eat food that should not contain more than 40 grams on average. It seems clear to me that you should know that you should never, ever eat sweetbread.

1. 1 Veal sweetbread contains 918 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 2 Wheat germ contains 843 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 3 Yeast contains 680 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 4 Soybeans contain 356 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 5 Canned sardines contain 349 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 6 Herring contains 317 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 7 Trout contains 311 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

200 to 300 milligrams of purines

1. This section of the list also includes foods that contain way too much purines. If you go through the list, you will notice that these are mainly organ meats, pork and certain types of fish. Soy and lentils also do not belong in a diet aimed at lowering uric acid levels.

1. 8 Soy flour contains 296 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 9 Anchovies contains 260 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 10 Bovine lungs contain 242 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 11 Beef liver contains 230 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 12 Veal liver contains 221 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 13 Veal kidneys contain 218 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 14 Pork fillet 212 milligrams purines per 100 grams

1. 15 Roast herring contains 215 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 16 Lentils contain 200 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

150 to 200 milligrams of purines

1. Also this part of the list of foods that you should absolutely avoid consists mainly of fish, shrimp, various meats, game, goose and duck and certain types of seeds and kernels. So as far as you know you have to be careful with meat and fish.

1. 17 Canned tuna contains 198 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 18 Mackerel 186 contains milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 19 Minced pork contains 183 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 20 Lamb meat 180 contains milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 21 Smoked salmon contains 174 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 22 Goose contains 170 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 23 Minced meat half and half contains 170 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 24 Crispbread 161 contains milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 25 Bass contains 160 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 26 Deer contains 160 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 27 Chickpeas contain 160 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 28 Beef tongue contains 160 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 29 Sunflower seeds contain 157 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 30 Buckwheat contains 156 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 31 Barley contains 155 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 32 Beef fillet / minced meat contains 154 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 33 Duck contains 150 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 34 Prawns contain 150 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 35 Rabbit contains 150 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

100 to 150 milligrams of purines

1. Occasionally you can ingest a little bit of this food, but keep it very limited. The moment you allow this food back into your diet, you can wait until your uric acid level passes the critical amount again and you have another gout attack!

1. 36 Wheat bran contains 142 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 37 Veal fillet contains 140 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 38 Squid contains 135 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 39 Plaice contains 135 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 40 Cervelate sausage contains 133 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 41 Beans contain 130 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 42 Shrimps contain 130 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 43 mutton contains 130 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 44 chicken fillet contains 120 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 45 Turkey fillet contains 120 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 46 Cod contains 120 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 47 Lobster contains 120 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 48 Tuna contains (fresh cut) 120 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 49 Beef roast steak contains 112 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 50 Rumpsteak 110 contains milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 51 Roast beef 110 contains milligrams of purines per 100 grams

1. 52 White bread contains 104 milligrams of purines per 100 grams

Finally:

1. As you can see, not a single piece of fruit or vegetables has been discussed yet. Do you also notice that it is mainly meat, fish and shrimp and certain types of seeds and kernels that you really have to watch out for? In fact, by eating a varied diet you can take all fruit and vegetables, provided you don't eat the same thing over and over again.

1. Also dairy and most nuts will not be a problem, just be careful with mushrooms and mushrooms and you can maintain a very low purine diet without having to memorize entire lists learn.

1. Again the golden rule regarding a diet that should prevent you from having a gout attack again is a diet that contains little sugars and purine, for the artificial sugars you can see the list I above have called persist.

1. By ignoring the processed food, your health is also an extra pleasure, you will also consume much less trans fats, good for everyone, with or without gout!

1. In addition, avoid: -meat, everything that comes out of the water, no soy and no yeast. For example, yeast is in bread to make it rise, so be careful with bread!

1. Don't experiment with seeds and kernels, sunflower seeds buckwheat wheat germ are all those purine bombs, stick to nuts and avocados for the proteins.

1. Gout? Do you suffer from gout attacks and do you want to do something about it! .

Sources

1. HFCS (High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup)

1. Summary: