Changing eating habits in case of gout is practically a task of first necessity, since this disease is associated with metabolic disorders. What foods can you eat if you have gout, what foods should you not eat, and which foods should you limit? What should be the diet for gout? Can the menu include steaks or chicken breast? Read and you will know everything!
Proper nutrition against gout is half the success! How to prevent exacerbations simply by dieting? Details in our article.
Gout is a disease caused by metabolic disorders. This happens when crystals of urate, a salt of uric acid, build up in the joints. These crystals begin to form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which occurs when the body produces too much of this acid or the kidneys are unable to eliminate it. When uric acid builds up in the body, the result is gout. Diet helps reduce acid production and restore health.
If you don't treat and change your diet, the situation can get worse. Crystals that look like sharp needles begin to form in joints and surrounding tissues. These needles cause pain, inflammation, swelling – usually gout symptoms. Very often, deposits accumulate in the joints of the legs, particularly around the big toe bone. 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 that you have this condition. We are against self-medication and insist that in case of health problems you consult a doctor. But there are certain signs that may indicate that you are suffering from gout symptoms. In this case, a diet will be beneficial, but only a doctor can prescribe medications.
- Joint pain – knees, elbows, wrists and fingers may be affected.
- The big toe joint may be one of the first to be affected.
- Not only do the joints hurt, they become hot and the skin in the affected area turns red.
- Body temperature may increase.
Why is it important to follow a gout diet?
It's simple: the body produces uric acid from purines, chemical compounds that are already present there. But purines are not only found in the human body: they are quite numerous in some foods: for example, meat and seafood. In addition, certain types of foods cause the formation of uric acid, which meansthat the raw materials for urate crystals are alcoholic beverages, especially beer, as well as drinks containing fructose - fruit sugar. So, the reason why gout can be triggered is food. The diet involves reducing your diet, you will have to remove certain foods from the menu.
If you belong to a risk group (for example, you suffer from kidney disease or are hypertensive) - with a poor diet, the risks of "contracting" gout increase. If the disease has already been diagnosed and you know for sure that you suffer from gout, the treatment is diet: eating right is simply necessary, otherwise an attack will not be avoided.
Previously, it was believed that mainly men were at risk and a special diet was developed to combat gout in men. But recently more and more women are getting sick, so it is important for both sexes to follow a diet. A diet for gout in women, as well as in men, significantly reduces the risk of exacerbations.
At the same time, the goal of restrictions is not only to reduce the consumption of purines and the intensity of uric acid production. A gout diet for women will also help you lose weight if you have extra pounds. The fact is that with obesity and even just extra pounds (of course, superfluous in the medical sense of the word, appearance has absolutely nothing to do with it), the concentration of uric acid in the bodyincreases and good nutrition helps to get rid of both kilos and this effect.
So, the smart solution if you are suffering from gout is to follow a diet. Prohibited products must be excluded. Important: you absolutely should not "rush into seriousness" and lose weight with the help of exhausting diets, this will only harm you, the acid level, on the contrary, will increase. It is better to get rid of excesses gradually. Eat well and avoid potentially dangerous foods, and you won't be afraid of exacerbations.
Gout in women
A diet that excludes fast food and alcohol will have a positive impact on health in one way or another. However, a diet for gout on the legs involves a much longer list of prohibited foods - the diet, alas, will become noticeably poorer. On the other hand, changing your diet will significantly and for the better affect the course of the disease. So if gout is diagnosed, the treatment is diet. For women and men, a pleasant side effect is possible: a diet free of processed foods can have an overall positive effect on health. It should also be noted 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 during gout in men and women
Can it be said that if gout is diagnosed in a woman, the symptoms, diet and treatment will be different from the male version? In general, no: the only difference is that men are more likely to suffer from gout, according to various estimates, 7 or even 19 times more often. Additionally, women rarely get sick before menopause, but men can begin to suffer from this condition as early as age 40.
It doesn't matter which joints are affected by the disease. The diet for gout in the legs and arms of men, as well as women, is no different: it is important to stick to it. In general, changing eating habits is the main recommendation of doctors for this disease.
List of foods prohibited for gout
First of all, you need to remove foods high in purines from your diet. After all, if your body doesn't get extra purines, it won't produce excess acid from them, so why give it building material. There are many purines in foods such as:
- Red meat.Lamb, veal, pork and beef are not the best choice for gout patients. You can eat all of this, but you need to limit the portions.
- Meat by-products.The liver, kidneys, brain, any "internal" meat can cause an exacerbation. Yes, this can all be very tasty, but when a gout attack is on the other side of the scale, no thanks.
- 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 baked pheasant, refuse.
- Fish and seafood:the purines just float in it. Cod, herring, trout, mackerel, sardines, tuna, as well as crabs, shrimp, scallops and many other seafood can significantly worsen the condition of a person suffering from gout. True, some doctors believe that the benefits of seafood can outweigh the harm, but only if they are consumed little by little.
What else is better to avoid? The following foods have also been proven to increase uric acid levels in the body:
- Sugary drinks :industrially produced sweetened lemonade and juices.
- Alcohol:beer and wheat-based spirits like vodka and whiskey. A little is possible, but if we are talking about a diet for gout during an exacerbation, it is not at all possible at the moment.
- Additional sugar:honey, agave syrup, other foods high in fructose.
- Yeast additives.
- Semi-finished products(sometimes they contain something completely incomprehensible).
Additionally, it would be great if you could give up white bread, cakes and cookies. By themselves, they are not too dangerous, but they do not contain many nutrients, which also causes the body to produce uric acid.
Of course, a steak or a sandwich with liver pâté will not provoke an attack, the main thing is to generally follow a diet for gout and high uric acid.
What can you eat if you have gout: allowed foods
We agree, the list of what to exclude from your diet is pretty impressive, but that doesn't mean you should eat only sunshine. Here are some foods allowed for gout.
- Vegetables.You can eat absolutely anything, including those that contain a lot of purines (for example, spinach) - they are not so well absorbed by vegetables.
- Fruits and berries.Almost everything is equally possible, and some are even necessary - cherries have been proven to reduce the concentration of uric acid and are therefore particularly useful as a nutritional component against gout.
- Legumes.And again, all kinds, even lentils, even soy, even green beans.
- Whole grains.Oats, brown rice, barley – as an example.
- Nuts.
- Dairy products.In general, they are all more or less safe, but it is better to eat and drink those that have a reduced percentage of fat.
- Eggs.
- Lean meat(chicken, turkey).
- Coffee, tea, green tea.Some studies show that coffee slightly reduces the risk of gout flare-ups, but drinking too much can have other health effects, so it's best not to overdo it.
- Vegetable oils: coconut, olive, flax seeds.
- All the spices.
Very useful in case of gout or a tendency to drink as much as possible. Another recommendation is to consume foods rich in vitamin C. Of course, it doesn't have to be orange juice from the store, but an orange itself or lemon tea are quite suitable.
Gout diet: food table
So, what can and can't you eat if you have gout? Based on what has been written above, we have compiled shortlists of products for you to check out.
Can
- Vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Legumes
- Whole grains
- Nuts
- Milkman
- Eggs
- Lean meat
- Coffee, tea, green tea
- Vegetable oils
- All the spices
Thoroughly
- Red meat
- Seafood
- Fish
- White bread, pastries
Rarely or never
- By-products
- Game
- Juice, lemonade
- Honey and other foods high in fructose
- Semi-finished products
- Alcohol
- Yeast supplements
Of course, nutrition for gout during an exacerbation involves moving foods from the "With Caution" column 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.
Nutrition for gout: menu
So, everything is clear with permitted and prohibited products, but how to combine what is possible so that it is tasty and not repeated very often? We have prepared a sample menu for the week for you and have tried to diversify it as much as possible so that you are spoiled for choice. Of course, you can make additions to it from the list of permitted products (and little by little - from those with caution).
Monday
- Breakfast: green tea, "lazy oatmeal" with kefir or yogurt with berries. Simply pour kefir or yogurt over the oatmeal with berries and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. You'll see, it's very tasty!
- Lunch: quinoa salad with hard-boiled eggs and fresh vegetables, miso soup.
- Dinner: Whole grain pasta with chicken and vegetables.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: coffee, cottage cheese, peach or several slices of melon, bran flakes.
- 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: burger (wholemeal bread, turkey escalope, cheese, vegetables).
THURSDAY
- Breakfast: tea, yogurt with berries and bran flakes.
- Lunch: chickpea pilaf with chicken, vegetable salad.
- Dinner: lean fish steak, 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 exacerbation).
- Dinner: fruit salad.
SATURDAY
- Breakfast: milk, potato pancakes with low-fat sour cream.
- Lunch: grilled vegetables with chicken skewer.
- Dinner: berry smoothie, a few sandwiches with cheese and herbs (it is better to take wholemeal bread).
Sunday
- Breakfast: tea, whole milk porridge with berries.
- Lunch: lasagna (again, best to use whole grain sheets as a base and minced chicken).
- Dinner: julienned chicken and mushrooms, homemade mulled wine made from berry compote (just add your favorite spices, apples and citrus fruits and heat).
You can use any vegetable, fruit or berry as a snack. Remember 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 gout diet, table 6, is quite simple to follow, the list of products is quite long, and you can come up with many combinations of them. Of course, in summer it is much easier to follow a diet because 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 overflowing with tangerines, then they are replaced by pomelo. . . The same cherries can be frozen in summer and in winter, compotes or pies can be made from them (the latter are preferable without yeast) dough and rarely), and lemons are available all year round without any restrictions.
The right diet for gout: results and opinions
If you follow proper nutrition against gout, the patient can count on a longer remission and a smoother course of the disease. The diet will relieve gout and its symptoms - pain will decrease, inflammation will subside. Many reviews also talk about it. It is important to note that almost everyone who wrote about their struggle with gout on the Internet regretted not having consulted a doctor at the first symptoms. So, even if you haven't been diagnosed with gout, but something in this seems familiar, go to the clinic - just to be safe.
In general, diet 6, gout, recipes with many restrictions, all this is not a death sentence. The frequency of exacerbations can be significantly reduced if you eat well and thus control the level of uric acid. And even if you eat a steak once a month and wash it down with dark beer, it's unlikely to trigger an attack if you generally follow your diet.