A good diet for gout reduces your intake of foods that are high in purines. Purines occur naturally in your body, but you can also get them from eating certain foods, such as organ meats, anchovies, herring, asparagus, and mushrooms. Your body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines. High levels of uric acid in your blood cause crystals to form and accumulate around a joint, which causes painful gout “attacks.” Following a gout diet will not eliminate gout, but it can decrease the number of attacks and make them less severe.
In many ways, a good diet for people with gout resembles a healthy eating plan that is beneficial to almost everyone:
- Limit meat, poultry and fish
- Eat more plant-based protiens (beans, legumes)
- Limit or avoid alcohol
- Drink plenty of fluids, particularly water
- Choose complex carbohydrates (whole grains, less white flour)
- Limit or avoid sugar