Adjusting Your Diet For Gout? - What Foods Contribute To Gout?

I have gout. And my first gout attack was a very painful introduction to a condition that is more common than most people think. It completely blindsided me. I had no idea that my diet (and a few other factors) had been putting me at risk for gout. Who knows how long this disease had been stalking me ready to strike. I have since learned that a diet loaded with foods high in purines can cause and aggravate gouty arthritis (gout is a type of arthritis). 

Just a short story about how my first gout attack happened:

I was on vacation with my wife and we were staying at a hotel in Denver, Co. We were having a good time and splurging; a night on the town (a few beers), a nice meal (shrimp cocktail, prime rib and creamed spinach), we were having a great time (a few more beers).

I popped some aspirin because I always take aspirin for anything that ails me (I heard it is good for hangovers too), and I took my high blood pressure medication (a diuretic). The next morning I woke up and my right foot had swollen up so big that I could not even get my shoe on. And talk about PAINFUL, it virtually took me 5 minutes to put a sock on and I could barely walk!

I thought to myself, "What the hell is going on?" So I popped some more aspirin for the pain (Oh boy, big mistake - I'll explain later). Long story short, I had to go see a doctor and he told me I was having a gout attack. When he listed the dietary risk factors for gout, I immediately recognized that a lot of the foods I had been eating coupled with some drugs I was taking (and being overweight did not help matters) had made me a walking "gout time bomb."

Here is a short breakdown of some of the dietary factors which contributed to my gout attack:

1) Seafood: Although the shrimp I had the night before my attack was undeniably a factor because all shellfish have high purines, shrimp is not the worst offender. Some other fish have even higher amounts of purines - anchovies, sardines, smelt, and mussels are just a few. Back off the seafood if you have gout. 

2) Red Meat: I had a huge slab of prime rib the night before my attack. It was delicious, but red meat is high in purines, so it was a contributing factor to my gout attack. Liver, sweetbreads, organ meats, and gravies are some other foods that are in this high purine category. 

3) Alcohol: Beer is a big No No if you have gout, which pisses me off (because I love it). I had probably 8-10 beers the night before my gout attack. All alcoholic drinks can aggravate gout, but beer is especially bad because it has large amounts of brewers yeast and yeast is one of the highest purine containing foods there is. If you have gout, just moderate your drinking and you should be ok. 

4) Some veggies are high in purines: Spinach is one of them, and I did have spinach the night before my attack (culminating in my perfect storm for a gout attack). Some other high purine vegetables are asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, kidney and lima beans. Please note that these are just moderately high in purines and most likely will not be a problem to gout sufferers in moderation. Most vegetables are actually very low in purines. 

Ok the dietary breakdown of my "night before" is completed. But there are some other things I was taking that absolutely contributed to my gout attack. Remember I said I would explain about aspirin? Well, aspirin is also a contributing factor for gout when taken in high amounts. Aspirin increases the level of uric acid in the body and uric acid crystals in the joints of the body is what causes gout. I was taking probably 8-10 aspirin/day before my gout attack, I have since changed over to ibuprophen. Low dose aspirin in most cases will not aggravate gout.

And last, but not least, I have high blood pressure, am overweight, and in my 50's. I was taking a high blood pressure medication which contained a diuretic. Diuretics have been shown to be associated with gout because they can also increase the uric acids levels in the system. Although not the main culprit in most gout attacks, diuretics can be a contributing factor.

Over the years I have learned a lot about what causes gout, the proper diet to decrease my chances of having a gout attack, and how to live with this painful disease. At the time of this writing it has been nearly 3 years since I have had an attack of gout and I give credit in large part to a proper diet. If you have gout and want to lessen your attacks then you should also learn how your diet can be adjusted to eliminate gout from your life. Believe me, it is a lot less painful to change your diet for gout, than to suffer with gout.