Foods to Avoid on a Low Purine Diet

Experiencing a gout attack can be one of the most painful experience of your life. Your joints--usually in the big toe--swell and become hot and tender to the touch. To avoid future gout attacks, you'll have to commit to a diet low in a type of compound called purine. Certain foods contain lots of purines, so you'll have to cut down on eating these foods or avoid them entirely.

Reasons

• Why do people with gout have to eat a low-purine diet? When you eat foods containing purines, the purines are broken down into uric acid. The kidneys filter uric acid, but sometimes there is some left over. In people with gout, the uric acid forms crystals that lodge in the joints, causing pain and redness. If gout goes untreated, these crystals can form deposits that can actually cause joint deformity. The fewer purine-rich foods you eat, the less uric acid your body has to filter out, and the less likely you are to suffer from gout flare-ups.

High/Medium Purine Foods

• If you're trying to avoid purines, stay away from anchovies, herring, mackerel and sardines. Other products from the sea, such as caviar, scallops and mussels, are also high in purines. Fish and seafood in general contain a medium level of purines. Organ meats and game have lots of purines, as does broth and gravy, but all red meat and poultry contain some purines. Some vegetables, like dried beans and dried lentils, spinach, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms and peas, all contain a medium level of purine.

Other Tips

• Drinking lots of water can help flush out uric acid, but drinking alcohol is a poor choice. Beer is especially high in purines, while hard liquors like vodka or gin are somewhat better choices. Wine may not affect purine levels very much one way or another. Lowering your general fat intake is also a good idea, not because it will decrease your gout attacks but because gout raises your risk of developing heart disease.