Changing food habits in the case of gout is a practically necessary task, because this disease is associated with metabolic disorders. What foods can you eat if you have gout, what foods should you not eat, and what foods should you limit? What should be the gout diet? Can the menu include steaks or chicken breasts? Read on and you'll find out!
Proper nutrition for gout is half the battle! How to prevent exacerbations only by following a diet? Details in our article.
Gout is a disease caused by metabolic disorders. It occurs when crystals of urate, a salt of uric acid, accumulate in the joints. These crystals start to form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which in turn happens when the body either produces too much of this acid or the kidneys are unable to eliminate it. The result when uric acid builds up in the body is gout. The diet helps reduce acid production and restore health.
If you don't treat and change your diet, it can get worse. Crystals that look like sharp needles begin to form in the joints and surrounding tissues. These needles cause pain, inflammation, swelling - generally, gout symptoms. Very often deposits accumulate in the joints of the legs, especially on the bones of the big toe. A special diet for gout and high uric acid can alleviate these unpleasant symptoms.
Gout: symptoms and treatment
Diet is very important for gout, but it is important to make sure you have the disease. We are against self-medication and insist that you consult a doctor in case of health problems. But some signs may indicate that you have gout - symptoms. In this case, a diet will be useful, but only a doctor can prescribe drugs.
- Joint pain – knees, elbows, wrists and fingers can be affected.
- The toe joint may be one of the first to be affected.
- The joints not only hurt, they become hot and the skin in the affected area becomes red.
- Body temperature may rise.
Why is it important to follow a gout diet?
It's simple: the body produces uric acid from purines, chemical compounds already present in it. But purines are not only found in the human body, there are a lot of them in certain foods: for example, meat and seafood. In addition, some types of food cause the formation of uric acid, which means that the raw material for urate crystals are alcoholic drinks, especially beer, as well as drinks with fructose - fruit sugar. So the reason gout can be triggered is food. The diet involves reducing your diet, you will have to eliminate some foods from the menu.
If you are in a risk group (for example, you have kidney disease or you are hypertensive) - with the wrong diet, the chances of "getting" gout increase. If the disease has already been diagnosed and you know for sure that you have gout, the treatment is diet: proper nutrition is simply necessary, otherwise the attack will not be avoided.
Previously, it was believed that men were mainly at risk, and a special diet was developed as a diet for gout in men. But lately, more and more women are getting sick, so it is important that both sexes follow a diet. Diet for gout in women, as well as in men, significantly reduces the likelihood of exacerbations.
At the same time, the goal of restriction is not only to reduce purine consumption and the intensity of uric acid production. A diet for gout in women will also help you lose weight if you are overweight. The fact is that with obesity, and even just excess weight (of course, excess in the medical sense of the word, appearance has absolutely nothing to do with it), the concentration of uric acid in the body increases, and proper nutrition helps to get rid of both weight and thiseffect.
So the smart solution if you have gout is diet. Prohibited products will have to be excluded. Important: you absolutely should not "rush with all seriousness" and lose weight with the help of exhausting diets, this will only harm you, the acid level will, on the contrary, increase. It is better to remove the excess gradually. Eat right and avoid potentially dangerous foods and you won't be afraid of getting worse.
Gout in women
A diet that excludes fast food and alcohol from the diet will have a positive effect on health in one way or another. However, the diet for gout in the legs implies a much larger list of prohibited foods - the diet will, unfortunately, become noticeably poorer. On the other hand, changing the diet will significantly affect the course of the disease for the better. So if gout is diagnosed, the treatment is diet. For both men and women, a pleasant side effect is possible – a diet without processed foods can have an overall positive effect on health. It is also worth noting that gout symptoms are less common in women. The fact is that the female body contains less uric acid in the blood, and estrogen also protects women from gout.
Differences in the course of gout in men and women
Is it safe to say that if a woman is diagnosed with gout, the symptoms, diet and treatment will be different from the male version? In general, no: the only difference is that men suffer from gout more often, according to various estimates, 7 or even 19 times more often. In addition, women rarely get sick before menopause, but men can start getting this disease already in their 40s.
It does not matter which joints are affected by the disease. The diet for gout in men's legs and hands, as well as in women, is no different, it is important to stick to it. In general, a change in eating habits is the main recommendation of doctors for this disease.
List of foods that are not allowed for gout
First of all, you need to eliminate foods rich in purines from your diet. After all, if your body does not receive additional purines, then it will not produce excess acid from them, so why give it material to build. Purina is abundant in foods such as:
Red meat. Lamb, veal, pork and beef are not the best choice for gout patients. You can eat all of these, but portions should be limited.Meat by-products. Liver, kidney, brain, any "inside" meat can cause deterioration. Yes, all of this can be very tasty, but when a gout attack is on the other side of the scale - no thanks.The game. Of course, it rarely appears on the table (well, unless you or your partner are avid hunters), but if you are suddenly offered to try something exotic in the form of venison or roast pheasant, refuse.Fish and seafood: purines just float in them. Cod, herring, trout, mackerel, sardines, tuna, plus crab, shrimp, scallops and many other seafood can greatly worsen the condition of a person with gout. True, some doctors believe that the benefits of seafood may outweigh the harm, but only if consumed in small amounts.
What's even better to avoid? The following foods have also been proven to raise the level of uric acid in the body:
sweet drinks: lemonade and industrially produced sweet juices.Alcohol: beer and wheat-based spirits such as vodka and whiskey. It's a little possible, but if we're talking about a gout diet during an exacerbation, it's not at all possible at this point.Added sugar: honey, agave syrup, other foods with high fructose content.Additives for yeast. Semi-finished products (sometimes they contain something completely incomprehensible).
In addition, it will be great if you can give up white bread, cakes and cookies. They are not too dangerous in themselves, but they do not contain many nutrients, and this also provokes the body to produce uric acid.
Of course, one steak or liver pâté sandwich will not trigger an attack, the main thing is that you generally follow a diet for gout and high uric acid.
What you can eat if you have gout: allowed food
We agree, the list of what to exclude from your diet is quite impressive, but this does not mean that you should eat only sunlight. Here are some foods that are allowed for gout.
Vegetables. You can eat absolutely anything, including those that contain a lot of purines (for example, spinach) - they are not absorbed so well from vegetables.Fruits and berries. Almost everything is also possible, and some are necessary - cherries have been proven to reduce the concentration of uric acid, and are therefore particularly useful as a nutritional component in gout.Legumes. And again, any kind, even lentils, even soybeans, even green beans.Whole grains. Oats, brown rice, barley - just as an example.Nuts. Milk products. In general, they are all more or less safe, but it is better to eat and drink those with a reduced percentage of fat.Eggs. Lean meat (chicken, turkey).Coffee, tea, green tea. There are studies that show that coffee slightly reduces the risk of gout, but drinking too much can have other health effects, so it's best not to overdo it.Vegetable oils: coconut, olive, linseed.Any spices.
Very useful for gout or a tendency to drink as much as possible. Another recommendation is to consume foods rich in vitamin C. Of course, it should not be orange juice from the store, but an orange itself or tea with lemon is quite suitable.
Diet for gout: table food
So what can you and can't you eat if you have gout? Based on the above, we have compiled a short list of products that you can check out.
It can
- Vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Legumes
- Whole grains
- Nuts
- Milk products
- Eggs
- Lean meat
- Coffee, tea, green tea
- Vegetable oils
- Any spices
Carefully
- red meat
- Sea food
- A fish
- White bread, pastries
Rarely or never
- Byproducts
- The game
- Juices, lemonade
- Honey and other foods with high fructose content
- Semi-finished products
- Alcohol
- Yeast supplements
Of course, the diet for gout during an exacerbation implies that the foods from the "Caution" column are moved below to the "Rarely or never" column. If your joints hurt, it is better not to overload them with additional deposits, even the most insignificant ones.
Diet for gout: menu
So, everything is clear with the allowed and prohibited products, but how to combine what is possible to be tasty and not to be repeated often? We have prepared for you a sample menu for the week and tried to diversify it as much as possible so that you have something to choose from. Of course, you can add any supplements to it from the list of allowed products (and little by little - from those with caution).
Monday
- Breakfast: green tea, "lazy oatmeal" with kefir or yogurt with berries. Just cover oatmeal with berries with kefir or yogurt and leave it overnight in the refrigerator. You'll see, it's very tasty!
- Lunch: quinoa salad with boiled eggs and fresh vegetables, miso soup.
- Dinner: Whole grain pasta with chicken and vegetables.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: coffee, cottage cheese, peach or a few slices of melon, bran.
- Lunch: Brown rice with roast turkey.
- Dinner: omelette with mushrooms and spinach.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: vegetable salad, a handful of nuts.
- Lunch: lentil soup with chicken broth.
- Dinner: patty (whole grain, turkey cutlet, cheese, vegetables).
Thursday
- Breakfast: tea, yogurt with berries and bran.
- Lunch: chickpea pilaf with chicken, vegetable salad.
- Dinner: steak from lean fish, garnished with green beans.
Friday
- Breakfast: coffee, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers.
- Lunch: potato casserole with ground beef (replace with chicken during periods of deterioration).
- Dinner: fruit salad.
Saturday
- Breakfast: milk, potato pancakes with low fat sour cream.
- Lunch: grilled vegetables with chicken kebab.
- Dinner: berry smoothie, a couple of sandwiches with cheese and herbs (whole grain bread is better).
Sunday
- Breakfast: tea, whole milk porridge with berries.
- Lunch: lasagna (again, it's better to use whole grain sheets as a base and ground chicken).
- Dinner: julienne with chicken and mushrooms, homemade mulled wine based on berry compote (just add your favorite spices, apples and citrus fruits and heat).
As a snack, you can use any vegetables, fruits and berries. Let us remind you that cherries and citrus fruits are especially useful, and it is also important to drink more plain water. Dehydration makes gout worse.
In general, the diet for gout, table 6, is quite easy to follow, the list of products is quite extensive, and you can come up with many combinations of them. Of course, it is much easier to follow a diet in summer due to the fact that vegetables are cheaper and their variety is much greater. However, you can always pay attention to seasonal vegetables: for example, in September the watermelon season continues, in December the stores are full of tangerines, so replace them with pomelo. . . in winter they can be used to make compotes or pies (the latter is better not to make dough with yeast and rarely), and lemons are available all year round without any restrictions.
The Right Gout Diet: Results and Reviews
If you follow a proper gout diet, the patient can count on a longer remission and milder course of the disease. The diet will relieve gout and its symptoms - the pain will decrease, the inflammation will subside. Numerous reviews speak of this. It is important to note that almost all the people who have shared stories about their struggle with gout on the Internet have regretted not seeing a doctor at the first symptoms. So, even if you haven't been diagnosed with gout, but something in this material sounds familiar, go to the clinic - just to be sure.
In general, diet 6, gout, prescriptions with many restrictions, all this is not a death sentence. The frequency of exacerbations can be significantly reduced if you eat properly and thus control the level of uric acid. Even if you eat a steak once a month and wash it down with a dark beer, it is unlikely to trigger an attack if you generally follow the diet.