A gout diet plan is an important part of controlling your gout symptoms and attacks. After all, when not controlled, gout can cause severe and permanent damage to your tissues, joints, and tendons.
As gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood, a proper gout diet plan should aim to reduce uric acid levels and encourage proper elimination of uric acid from the body.
There are five main points that you need to remember in order to maintain a good gout diet plan. These are:
- Minimizing the number of foods high in purines. These include, primarily, meat, beer, and seafood.
- Maintaining a healthy body mass by eating a very healthy diet high in nutrients.
- Eating dairy products that are low in fat, to help to lower the risk of gout flare-ups.
- Drinking lots of water and clear liquids. The better you hydrate your body, the more prepared it will be to flush uric acid away.
- Eating more complex carbohydrates and fewer refined carbohydrates.
Now that you know the main rules for planning a quality gout diet plan, you are prepared to speak to your doctor or a registered dietician about your healthy daily caloric intake and nutritional requirements, as well as the right foods to keep your diet properly balanced while still abiding by these five primary rules.
Dr. Hyon K. Choi published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine's March 11, 2004 issue. It discussed the importance of a low-purine, low-protein diet for decreasing the chances of crystal formation in the joints from uric acid in the body. Dr. Choi's study examined a group of over forty seven thousand men over a twelve year period. These men had no prior history of gout, but by the end of the twelve years, 730 of them had been diagnosed with gout.
Through this study, it was discovered that those who eat large amounts of meat are 40 percent more likely to develop gout. Furthermore, those who eat large amounts of seafood are 50 percent more likely to develop gout.
Foods that were shown not to increase the risk of gout included:
- Beans
- Peas
- Mushrooms
- Spinach
- Cauliflower
Even though those foods are high in purines, they are low in protein. Choi has shown that it is a high-purine, high-protein combination that may be the true contributor to gout and not just the purines alone. It is also now suspected that gout and cardiovascular disease may also be linked, as the diets connected to gout are the same as those connected to heart and circulatory problems.
Foods high in purines and proteins and which should be avoided include:
- Herring
- Mussels
- Hearts
- Yeast
- Sardines
- Smelt
- Sweetbreads
- Anchovies
- Bacon
- Liver
- Grouse
- Veal
- Mutton
- Turkey
- Salmon
- Kidneys
- Trout
- Goose
- Partridge
- Haddock
- Scallops
- pheasant
By eliminating such foods from your diet and following the five important tips for creating a gout diet plan, you will be helping your body to take control of your gout.
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