Foods that cause gout: Read on to discover a list of foods that cause gout. Unfortunately the foods to avoid are very popular. Nevertheless a well-balanced, healthy gout diet is needed in order for you to manage your gout.
Foods That Cause Gout
Generally speaking, foods that cause gout contain high concentrations of purines. These are natural chemical compounds in your body cells and in your food, which produce uric acid as they metabolize.
But, as you probably know by now, it’s the high level of uric acid in the blood that leads to the formation of uric acid crystals in your joints and surrounding tissue, which triggers the very painful symptoms of a gout attack. So, as a gout sufferer, you need to reduce the high uric acid in your blood.
And since the purines in your food contribute to the continual production of uric acid, you need to identify which foods are particularly high in purines and remove them from your gout diet.
In general, these come under the headings of red meat, seafood, poultry and legumes.
But there are varying levels of purines across the foods even within these headings. Note: You can get detailed tables of high, medium and low purine foods in my guide: Gout Rescue
High Purine Foods to Be Avoided
The following foods should be eliminated completely from your gout diet:
- anchovies
- sardines
- shrimps
- consomme
- bouillon
- gravy
- broth
- roe
- mackerel
- herrings
- scallops
- mussels
- mincemeat
- meat extracts
- liver
- heart
- brains
- kidneys
- sweetbreads
- dried legumes
- baker’s yeast
- brewer’s yeast
- yeast extracts
- soy
But be careful not to change your diet too quickly, as a rapid change can actually help RAISE uric acid levels and trigger a gout attack.
