Changing eating habits during gout is practically the first task of necessity, since this disease is associated with metabolic disorders. What foods can you eat, what foods should you avoid, and what should you limit if you have gout? What should be the diet for gout? Could steak or chicken breast be on the menu? Read and you will learn everything!
Proper nutrition for gout is half the battle! How to prevent flare-ups just by following a diet? Details in our article.
Gout is a disease caused by metabolic disorders. This occurs when urate crystals, which are uric acid salts, accumulate in the joints. These crystals begin to form when there is a high amount of uric acid in the blood, which in turn occurs either when the body produces too much uric acid or when the kidneys fail to excrete it. When uric acid accumulates in the body, the result is gout. Diet helps reduce acid production and restore health.
It can get worse if you don't treat it and change your diet. Crystals that look like sharp needles begin to form in the joints and surrounding tissues. These injections 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 alleviate these unpleasant symptoms.
Gout: symptoms and treatment
Diet is very important for gout, but it is important to be sure that you have this disease. We are against self-medication and insist that you consult a doctor if you have health problems. But some signs may indicate the presence of gout - symptoms. In this case, a diet will be useful, but only a doctor can prescribe medicine.
- 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, they become hot, the skin in the affected area becomes red.
- Body temperature may rise.
Why is it important to follow a diet for gout?
It's very simple: the body produces uric acid from purines, chemical compounds it already contains. But purines are abundant not only in the human body, but also in certain foods: for example, meat and seafood. In addition, some types of food cause the formation of uric acid, that is, the raw material for urate crystals is alcoholic beverages, especially beer, as well as beverages containing fructose - fruit sugar. So, the cause of gout is food. Diet involves reducing your diet, you will have to remove some foods from the menu.
If you are in a risk group (for example, if you have kidney disease or if you have hypertension) - the chance of "getting" gout increases with the wrong diet. If the disease has already been diagnosed and you know for sure that you have gout, the treatment is diet: eating right is simply necessary, otherwise an attack cannot 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 the diet. Diet for gout in women, as well as in men, significantly reduces the likelihood of exacerbation.
At the same time, the goal of restrictions is not only to reduce the consumption of purines and the intensity of uric acid production. Diet for gout in women will also help you lose weight if you have extra pounds. The fact is that with obesity and even extra pounds (of course, extra in the medical sense of the word, appearance has nothing to do with it), the concentration of uric acid in the body increases and helps to achieve proper nutrition. get rid of both the pounds and this effect.
So, if you have gout, the smart solution is diet. Prohibited products must be removed. Important: you should not completely "rush to 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 eliminate the excess gradually. Eat right and avoid potentially dangerous foods and you won't be afraid of an exacerbation.
Gout in women
A diet that excludes fast food and alcohol from the diet will have a positive effect on health in one way or another. However, a diet for gout in the feet involves a larger list of prohibited foods - the diet, unfortunately, will be significantly poorer. On the other hand, changing your diet will significantly affect the course of the disease for the better. So if gout is diagnosed, the treatment is diet. A pleasant side effect is possible for women and men - a diet without processed foods can have an overall positive effect on health. It should also be noted that gout symptoms are less common in women. The fact is that women have 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 women are diagnosed with gout, the symptoms, diet and treatment will be different than the male version? In general, no: the only difference is that men suffer from gout 7 and even 19 times more often, according to various estimates. In addition, women rarely get sick before menopause, but men can begin to suffer from this disease before the age of 40.
It does not matter which joints are affected by the disease. The diet for gout in men's legs and arms, as well as in women, is no different, it is important to follow it. In general, changing eating habits is the main recommendation of doctors against this disease.
List of foods not allowed for gout
First of all, you should eliminate foods with high purine content from your diet. After all, if your body doesn't take in extra purines, then it won't make more acid from them, so why provide the building material. Foods contain a lot of purines, such as:
Red meat. Lamb, veal, pork and beef are not the best choice for gout sufferers. You can eat all of them, but you should limit the portions.Meat by-products. Liver, kidneys, brain, any "internal" meat can cause exacerbation. Yes, all this can be very tasty, but when a gout attack is on the other side of the scale - no thanks.The game. Of course, it rarely appears on the table (well, unless you or your partner are avid hunters), but if suddenly you are offered to try something exotic in the form of venison or cooked 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 greatly worsen the condition of a person with gout. True, some doctors believe that the benefits of seafood can outweigh the harm, but only if they are consumed sparingly.
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. It is a little possible, but if we are talking about a diet for gout during an exacerbation, it is not at all possible at the moment.Added sugar: honey, agave syrup, other foods high in fructose.Yeast supplements. Semi-finished products (sometimes there is something completely incomprehensible in them).
In addition, it will be great if you can give up white bread, cakes and cookies. By themselves, they are not very dangerous, but they do not contain a lot of nutrients, which provokes the body to produce uric acid.
Of course, a sandwich with a steak or liver pie will not cause an attack, the main thing is to follow a diet for gout and high uric acid in general.
What you can eat if you have gout: allowed foods
We agree, the list of things to exclude from your diet is quite impressive, but this does not mean that you need to eat only sunlight. Here are some foods that are allowed for gout.
Vegetables. You can eat absolutely anything, including those with a lot of purines (for example, spinach) - they are not absorbed as well as vegetables.Fruits and berries. Almost everything is possible, and some are even necessary - cherries reduce the concentration of uric acid, and therefore have been proven to be particularly useful as a food component for gout.Legumes. And again, all kinds, even lentils, even soybeans, even green beans.Whole grains. Oats, brown rice, barley - as an example.nuts. Dairy products. In general, they are all more or less safe, but it is better to eat and drink those with a low fat content.Egg. 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 seasoning.
Very useful for gout or tendency to drink as much as possible. Another recommendation is to consume foods rich in vitamin C. Of course, it does not have to be orange juice from the store, but orange juice or tea with lemon is quite suitable.
Diet for gout: dining table
So what can and can't you eat if you have gout? Based on the above, we have compiled a short list of products to check out.
Be able
- Vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Legumes
- Whole grains
- nuts
- Dairy products
- Egg
- Lean meat
- Coffee, tea, green tea
- Vegetable oils
- Any seasoning
Carefully
- Red meat
- Sea products
- Fish
- White bread, pastry
Rarely or never
- By-products
- The game
- Juices, lemonade
- Honey and other high fructose foods
- Semi-finished products
- Alcohol
- Yeast supplements
Of course, nutrition for gout during an exacerbation involves moving foods from the "Caution" column to the "Rarely or Never" column below. If your joints hurt, it is better not to load them with extra beds, 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 a sample menu for you for the week and tried to diversify it as much as possible so that you have many options to choose from. Of course, you can add any to it from the list of allowed products (and a little - cautious ones).
Monday
- Breakfast: green tea, "lazy oatmeal" with kefir or yogurt with berries. Just pour kefir or yogurt on oatmeal with berries and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. You will see, it is very tasty!
- Lunch: boiled egg and quinoa salad with fresh vegetables, miso soup.
- Dinner: Whole grain pasta with chicken and vegetables.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: coffee, cottage cheese, peaches or a few slices of melon, bran flakes.
- Lunch: Brown rice with roasted turkey.
- Dinner: Omelet with mushrooms and spinach.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: vegetable salad, a handful of nuts.
- Lunch: lentil soup with chicken broth.
- Dinner: burger (whole grain bread, turkey cutlet, cheese, vegetables).
Thursday
- Breakfast: tea, berries and yogurt with bran flakes.
- Lunch: pilaf with chicken and peas, vegetable salad.
- Dinner: lean fish steak with green beans.
friday
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs with coffee, tomatoes and bell peppers.
- Lunch: potato stew with minced beef (replace with chicken during the period of exacerbation).
- Dinner: fruit salad.
Saturday
- Breakfast: potato pancakes with milk, low-fat sour cream.
- Lunch: fried vegetables with chicken kebab.
- Dinner: a berry smoothie, a few sandwiches with cheese and greens (it is better to take whole grain bread).
Sunday
- Breakfast: tea, whole grain milk porridge with berries.
- Lunch: lasagna (again, it is better to use whole grain layers and shredded chicken as a base).
- Dinner: chicken and mushroom julienne, homemade mulled wine based on berry compote (just add your favorite spices, apples and citrus fruits and heat it up).
You can use any vegetables, fruits and berries as a snack. We remind you that cherries and citrus fruits are especially useful, and it is also important to drink more plain 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 get acquainted with many combinations of them. Of course, it's easier to follow a diet in the summer because vegetables are cheaper and have a greater variety. However, you can always pay attention to seasonal vegetables: say, in September, the watermelon season continues, in December, the stores are full of tangerines, then they are replaced by pomelo. . . The same cherries can be frozen in the summer. in winter, you can make compotes or pies from them (the latter are better if they are not made with yeast dough and rarely), and lemons are available year-round without any restrictions.
The right diet for gout: results and reviews
If you follow the right diet for gout, the patient can count on a longer remission and a milder course of the disease. Diet will eliminate gout and its symptoms - pain will decrease, inflammation will decrease. Numerous reviews also talk about it. It is worth noting that almost all people who tell their stories of struggle with gout on the Internet regret not to consult a doctor at the first symptoms. So even if you haven't been diagnosed with gout, but something in this material looks familiar, go to the clinic - just to be on the safe side.
In general, diet 6, gout, prescriptions with many restrictions, all this is not a death sentence. If you eat properly and thereby control the level of uric acid, the frequency of exacerbations can be significantly reduced. Even if you eat a steak once a month and wash it down with dark beer, if you follow your diet in general, it cannot cause an attack.