The feeling of continuous pain caused by the symptoms of gout always haunts you. It is continuously running in your mind and has even started bothering your life. You are constantly telling your body to avoid sudden flare up caused by gout. But suddenly it happens and you end up in intense pain. There is nothing much you can do to cure your pain instantly. But fortunately, you can do a lot to avoid future gout pain from flaring up. The first thing to start with is to know the foods to avoid with gout.

What is Gout?

Gout is an inflammation occurs in your joints when the elevated uric acid starts to build up in your body. This uric acid is the by product of purines. The Purine is an amino acid which is generally present in the foods we eat. Our body breaks down purines into uric acid and filter out the excess uric acid in the process. But, when the body is unable to dispose off the elevated uric acid, it starts building up in our body.

This causes formation of uric acid crystals which then starts depositing in your body [1]. These uric acid crystals are needle like structures which gets deposited into your joints and soft tissues [2]. This deposition tends to occur in the areas having low blood flow, which is why you may have experienced it in your feet. And you end up experiencing gout pain, stiffness, swelling, and inflammation in joints.­­­­­­­

Foods that causes Gout

Gout remedies to find relief from gout pain revolves around lowering the blood uric acid levels. It is mostly done by employing medications. Your doctor will further advice you to make some lifestyle changes and adopt a Gout Diet. A gout diet requires you to eliminate foods to avoid with gout and start eating foods good for gout. However, the elevated uric acid can also be a result of various other factors apart from just the purine foods. These factors include obesity, hypothyroidism, use of diuretics, excessive consumption of alcohol and psoriasis.

Foods to avoid with gout are generally the foods which have high purine content. A typical gout patient has high chances of suffering from obesity, diabetes, and other health issues. They can get benefitted from adopting a Gout Diet and aim to improve their overall health and wellness.  Let us then start with gout diet which includes foods to avoid with gout and foods good for gout.

Gout Diet

The Gout Diet is a preventive measure for the symptoms of gout pain. A lot of people confuse gout diet as a way to eradicate gout from their system. This is clearly not the case. Don`t confuse gout diet as a cure to your problem. It is a step taken on the way to prevent gout pain from flaring up. The main aim of gout diet is to reduce the amount of elevated uric acid formed in your body.  Let us first start with foods to avoid with gout before learning foods good for gout.

Foods to avoid with Gout

Foods to avoid with Gout are the foods which contain amounts of purine. The amount of purine in foods you generally eat can contain up to 1000 mg of purine. This amount of purine is dangerous for a gout patient and can aggravate his/her gout pain. You need to watch out your intake of purine to reduce the amount of uric acid in your body.

Vegetables to avoid with Gout

1. Pea
2. Brocolli
3. Soyabean
4. Artichokes
5. Brussels
6. Mushroom
7. Spinach
8. Cauliflower
9. Cabbage
10. Aspragus

Fruits to avoid with Gout

1. Banana
2. Grapes
3. Apples
4. Kiwi
5. Water Melon
6. Dried Apricots
7. Dried Figs
8. Raisins
9. Dates
10. Dry Plum

Note: A gout patient has high chances of developing the condition of kidney stones and diabetes. As for the kidney stones, it can get worse if the calcium oxalate or the uric acid elevates in body [3]. For the diabetic patient, they should stay away from fruits containing fructose [4].

Meats to avoid with Gout

1. Liver
2. Kidney
3. Sweetbreads
4. Red Meat
5. Bacon
6. Lamb
7. Chicken
8. Turkey
9. Pork
10. Beef

Fish to avoid with Gout

1. Shellfish
2. Anchovies
3. Sardines
4. Scallops
5. Trout
6. Crab
7. Oysters
8. Shrimp
9. Haddock
10. Mussels

Beverages to avoid with Gout

1. Alcoholic Drinks
2. Soft Drinks
3. Caffeinated Drinks
4. Fruit Juices
5. Fizzy Sodas

Gout Diet Menu

The Gout Diet menu is recommended if you are diagnosed with gout. You need to follow it to avoid sudden gout pain from flaring up and reducing the severity of gout attacks. The gout diet menu contains foods good for gout. These foods are low in purine or have almost zero purine contained in them. A Gout diet will further help you stay healthy and cope with the symptoms of gout. Let us then see what type of gout diet foods you need to eat to stay healthy.

 Gout Diet Foods

The Gout Diet menu contains foods that are generally recommended in a healthy and a balanced diet. These diet foods encourage you to eat fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Also, you need to limit the intake of protein from meats, fish and poultry. Instead, you should switch to different types of protein sources like beans and legumes to cover your protein needs.

You are required to eat 10% of your daily calories from protein, 10% calories from fats and the rest 80% from carbohydrates [5]. The 10 % calories from fat should come from low fat dairy sources. Also, you should stay away from eating saturated fats. The intake of carbohydrates should be done only from low glycemic index foods [6]. Also, you need to stay hydrated the whole day to avoid sudden gout attacks. Aim for minimum of 80 ounces of water in your day which narrows down to 8-10 glasses of water per day.

Gout Diet Plan

Taking gout diet principles into account, let us share a 7 day gout diet plan for you. Here is a sample gout diet plan for you.

Day 1:

• Breakfast: 1 Cup white Oats, 2 Whole Grain Bread, ¼ cup cherries
• Lunch: 1 cup Brown Rice, ½ cup Lima Bean Salad
• Snack: 1 Peanut Butter Sandwich, 1 Orange
• Dinner: Low Fat cheese sandwich, Tossed Salad with Fat free dressing
• Snack: 1 Cup low fat skim milk

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Morning Smoothie (1/4 cup greek yogurt, ½ cup fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup skim milk, ½ cup spinach), Bran Cereal
• Lunch: 1 cup Quinoa salad, 3 Boiled Eggs
• Snack: 5 Almonds, 2 slices of Pineapple
• Dinner: Cabbage Soup, Garbanzo Bean salad

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Overnight Oats(1/2 cup white oats, ½ cup skim milk, 1/3 cup greek yogurt, 1tbsp flax seeds, ¼ cup blueberries)
• Lunch: 1 cup Brown Rice with garbanzo beans
• Snack: 1 Orange, 3 Eggs
• Dinner: Tomato Soup, Quinoa Salad
• Snack: 1 Cup low fat skim milk

Day 4:

• Breakfast: Morning Smoothie (1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt, ½ cup Almond Milk, 1 Tbsp Almond Butter, ½ Tbsp Chia seeds, Vanilla Extract)
• Lunch: 1 cup Pinto Bean Salad, 3 eggs
• Snack: 1 Peanut Butter Sandwich, 1/2 cup cherries
• Dinner: 1 Cup Brown Rice, Fresh Salad

Day 5:

• Breakfast: French Toast, ½ cup blueberries
• Lunch: Red Bean with fresh vegetables in whole wheat wrap
• Snack: 5 Peanuts, 1 cup strawberries
• Dinner: 1 Cup whole wheat pasta
• Snack: 1 Cup low fat skim milk

Day 6:

• Breakfast: Pudding (2 cup coconut milk, 2 tbsp chia seeds, ½ tbsp vanilla extract, 1 sliced apple)
• Lunch: 1 cup Brown Rice with tofu
• Snack: Scrambled Egg Tacos
• Dinner: Garbanzo Bean Salad with fresh vegetables

Day 7:

• Breakfast: Morning Smoothie (2 Tbsp Peanut Butter, ½ cup greek Yogurt, 2 cup skim milk)
• Lunch: Brown Rice with green vegetables
• Dinner: Quinoa and spinach salad

The Bottom Line

Gout is a painful condition which can be prevented by making dietary modifications in your diet. The best acute gout treatment is to employ the gout diet and eliminate the foods that cause gout. Also, making little tweaks in your lifestyle which includes daily exercise and clean eating can also help you prevent gout.

Bibliography

[1]	“What is Gout?,” Arthritis Foundation, [Online]. Available: https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/gout/what-is-gout.php.
[2]	“Uric Acid Buildup: The Connection Between Uric Acid and Joint Pain,” [Online]. Available: https://www.jointflex.com/uric-acid-and-joint-pain/.
[3]	C. Cross, “The Fruits to Avoid with Gout,” [Online]. Available: https://www.livestrong.com/article/353727-the-fruits-to-avoid-with-gout/.
[4]	“What Is the Difference Between Sucrose, Glucose & Fructose?,” [Online]. Available: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/difference-between-sucrose-glucose-fructose-8704.html.
[5]	S. Koulouris, “Gout Diet,” [Online]. Available: https://www.goutandyou.com/gout-diet/.
[6]	A. Reyes, “The Effects of Low GI and Carb Foods on Gout Flares,” [Online]. Available: http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com/gout/effects-low-gi-and-carb-foods-gout-flares.