A diet of purine rich foods is one of the causes of gout. Gout used to be a rich man’s disease because only the rich can afford to have meals of meat, rich breads and liquors regularly.
However because foods now are conveniently bought and prepared by manufacturers with less concern for health, it is now becoming a common disease that affects almost all ages.
What is gout?
Gout is a condition that results from excessive uric content in the blood. This is called hyperuricemia. Mostly affecting the males than the women, it can be extremely painful.It is a form of metabolic arthritis and causes pain, swelling in the joints especially the toes and redness in the affected areas.
Foods high in purine
Having a diet that is low in purine rich foods might reduce the discomfort of this disease. Purines are metabolized in the body and turned into uric acids. When not eliminated by the body, these purines build up and crystallize in some of parts of the body, usually joints,and result in gout.
What foods have high levels of purines? Purines are present in high protein food.The bad news is that all of us need protein rich foods. Careful selection of protein food will help you lessen gout pains.
The primary sources of protein are the meat and poultry. These include beef, mutton, veal, venison, chicken, duck and turkey. Their purines are high and therefore not recommended for people with gout.
Internal organs like kidney and brain must be avoided too. Also sweetbreads, which are the thymus glands of veal, young beef, lamb and pork should be limited.
Seafoods are high in protein; these includes cod, crab, lobster, salmon, snapper, tuna and trout.
Sardines and anchovies are among the fishes that are highest in purines. These purine-rich marine foods will give you painful gout attacks.
Some veggies like cauliflower, asparagus, peas and spinach are purine-rich too. Lima beans, navy beans and lentils are legumes that can also cause high uric acid.
Alcoholic beverages especially beers contain purines. If you want to lower purine intake, refrain from excessive drinking of alcohol.
Although oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol, it may not be recommended for anyone with gout because of high purines. Whole grain products like whole wheat breads, brown rice and pasta can be healthy alternative that refined grain products but they should also be avoided.
The purines in dairy products are not as high as those in proteins. However, those with gout should watch their dairy intake and choose the low-fat or non-fat products and continue with their low-purine diet.
Gout can be acquired through purine-rich foods that a person has eaten. However, a family predisposition can make one even more susceptible to the disease or be at high risk of acquiring gout.
So those on Atkins and Protein Power diets, which are low carb diets, might suffer from more painful attacks because they ingest more quantities of proteins, legumes and dairy products.
So how do you avoid the painful attack of gout? Aside from low-purine diet, a normal weight will lower the pressure or stress on your joints.
The heavier you are, the more chances of having painful gout attacks. Weight loss can help lower the uric acid content in the blood and, therefore, lower the chances of a gout attack.