Changing eating habits in case of gout is practically a 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 should you limit? What should be the diet for gout? Can the menu include steaks or chicken breasts? Read and you will learn everything!
The right food for gout is half the battle! How to prevent irritations just 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 begin to form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which 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 it and change your diet, it can get worse. Crystals that look like sharp needles begin to form in the joint and surrounding tissue. These needles cause pain, inflammation, swelling - generally, symptoms of gout. Very often, deposits accumulate in the joints of the feet, especially in the big toe bone. A special diet for gout and high uric acid can relieve 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 in case of health problems you consult a doctor. But some signs can indicate that you have symptoms - gout. In this case, a diet will be helpful, but only a doctor can prescribe medications.
- Joint pain – knees, elbows, wrists and fingers can be affected.
- The big toe joint may be one of the first to be affected.
- The joints not only hurt, but also 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 that are already present in it. But purines are not only found in the human body; there are plenty of them in certain foods: for example, meat and seafood. In addition, some types of food provoke the formation of uric acid, which means that the raw materials for urate crystals are alcoholic drinks, especially beer, as well as drinks with fructose - fruit sugar. So, the reason why gout can be caused is the foods. Dieting involves reducing your diet; you will have to remove some foods from the menu.
If you are in a risk group (for example, you have kidney disease or you are hypertensive) - with a 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: eating properly 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 as a diet for 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 possibility of flare-ups.
At the same time, the purpose of restrictions is not only to reduce the consumption of purines 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 extra pounds (of course, extra 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 ofkilograms and from this effect.
So the smart solution if you have gout is diet. Prohibited products will have to be excluded. Important: you absolutely should not "rush in all 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 excess gradually. Eat right and avoid potentially dangerous foods and you won't be afraid of irritations.
Gout in women
A diet that excludes fast food and alcohol from the diet will have a positive impact on health in one way or another. However, a diet for gout on foot means a much larger list of prohibited foods - the diet, alas, will become significantly poorer. On the other hand, changing the diet will significantly affect the progress of the disease for the better. So if gout is diagnosed, the treatment is diet. For women and men, 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 gout is diagnosed in women, 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. In addition, women rarely get sick before menopause, but men can start to suffer from this disease as early as the age of 40.
It does not matter which joints are affected by the disease. The diet for gout in the legs and arms of men, as well as in 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 not allowed for gout
First of all, you should remove foods with high purine content from your diet. After all, if your body doesn't get extra purines, then it won't make excess acid from them, so why give it building material. There are many purines in foods such as:
Red meat. Lamb, beef, pork and beef are not the best choice for gout patients. You can eat all of these, but you should limit the portions.Meat by-products. Liver, kidneys, brain, any "internal" meat can cause an aggravation. Yes, it can all be very tasty, but when a gout attack is on the other side of the scale - no thanks.Game. Of course, it appears on the table rarely (well, if you or your partner are not avid hunters), but if suddenly you are offered to try something exotic in the form of venison or roasted pheasant, refuse.Fish and seafood: purines just float in them. Cod, herring, trout, mackerel, sardines, tuna, plus crabs, shrimp, scallops and many other seafood can make a person with gout much worse. 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 shown to increase uric acid levels in the body:
Sweet drinks: lemonade and industrially produced sweet juices.Alcohol: beer and wheat-based spirits such as vodka and whiskey. A little is possible, but if we talk about a diet for gout during an exacerbation, it is not at all possible at this time.Additional sugar: honey, agave syrup, other foods with fructose.Yeast additives. Semi-finished products (sometimes they contain something completely incomprehensible).
In addition, it will be good if you can give up white bread, cakes and cookies. In themselves, they are not very dangerous, but they do not contain many nutrients and this also provokes the body to produce uric acid.
Of course, a steak or a liver pate sandwich will not cause an attack; the main thing is to generally follow a diet for gout and high uric acid.
What you can eat if you have gout: allowed foods
We agree, the list of what to exclude from your diet is quite impressive, but this does not mean that you should only eat 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 also possible, and some are even necessary - it has been proven that cherries reduce the concentration of uric acid, and therefore are especially useful as a nutritional ingredient for gout.Legumes. And again, any kind, including lentils, soybeans, and legumes.Whole grains. Oats, brown rice, barley - just as an example.Nuts. Dairy products. In general, they are all more or less safe, but it is better to eat and drink them with a reduced percentage of fat.Eggs. Lean meat (chicken, turkey).Coffee, tea, green tea. There are studies showing 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, linseed.Any spices.
Very useful for gout or a tendency to drink too much. Another recommendation is to consume foods rich in vitamin C. Of course, this does not have to be orange juice from the store, but an orange itself or lemon tea are quite suitable.
Diet for gout: food table
So what can and can't you eat if you have gout? Based on what was written above, we have compiled short lists of products for you to check out.
Can
- Vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Legumes
- Whole grains
- nuts
- milkweed
- egg
- Lean meat
- Coffee, tea, green tea
- Vegetable oils
- Any spices
Carefully
- red meat
- Seafood
- Fish
- White bread, pastries
Rarely or never
- derivatives
- Game
- Juice, lemonade
- Honey and other foods with fructose
- Semi-finished products
- alcohol
- Yeast supplements
Of course, eating for gout during an exacerbation means that foods from the "Caution" column move down into 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 the allowed and prohibited products, but how to combine what is possible so that it is tasty and not repeated too 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 a lot to choose from. Of course, you can make any additions to it from the list of allowed products (and from a few - from those carefully).
Monday
- Breakfast: green tea, "lazy oatmeal" with kefir or yogurt with berries. Simply pour kefir or yogurt over oatmeal with berries and refrigerate overnight. You will see, it is 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 flakes.
- Lunch: Brown rice with roasted turkey.
- Dinner: omelette with mushrooms and spinach.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: vegetable salad, a handful of nuts.
- Lunch: lentil soup with chicken stock.
- Dinner: Burger (whole grain bun, turkey patty, cheese, vegetables).
Thursday
- Breakfast: tea, yogurt with berries and bran.
- Lunch: chickpea pilaf with chicken, vegetable salad.
- Dinner: lean fish steak, garnished with green beans.
Friday
- Breakfast: coffee, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and bell peppers.
- Lunch: potato casserole with ground beef (replace with chicken during a period of irritation).
- Dinner: fruit salad.
Saturday
- Breakfast: milk, potato pancakes with low-fat sour cream.
- Lunch: grilled vegetables with chicken kebab.
- Dinner: berry smoothie, some sandwiches with cheese and herbs (it is better to take whole grain bread).
Sunday
- Breakfast: tea, whole grain milk porridge with berries.
- Lunch: lasagna (again, better to use cereal sheets as a base and ground chicken).
- Dinner: chicken and mushroom julienne, home-made wine with a berry compote base (just add your favorite spices, apples and citrus fruits and heat).
You can use any vegetables, fruits and berries as a snack. Let us remind you that cherries and citrus fruits are especially useful, and it is also important to drink more clean 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 find many combinations of them. Of course, in summer it is much easier to follow a diet due to the fact that vegetables are cheaper and their variety is much greater. However, you can always pay attention to seasonal vegetables: let's say, in September the watermelon season continues, in December the stores are filled with tangerines, then they are replaced by pomelos. . . The same cherries can be frozen in summer and in. in winter you can make compote or pies from them (the latter better not be made with yeast dough and rare), and lemons are available all year round without any restrictions.
The right diet for gout: results and reviews
If you follow the right food for gout, the patient can count on a longer remission and a milder course of the disease. The diet will relieve gout and its symptoms - pain will decrease, inflammation will decrease. Many comments also speak about this. It is important to note that almost all people who shared stories about their struggle with gout online 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 on the safe side.
In general, the 6-diet, gout, prescriptions with many restrictions, all this is not a death sentence. The frequency of irritations can be significantly reduced if you eat properly 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 is unlikely to cause an attack if you generally follow your diet.