For gout (or gouty arthritis), doctors mainly focus on diet. The importance of diet is undeniable, approaches and recommendations are changing, but diet is still considered part of the preventive treatment of gout exacerbations to minimize their recurrence.
Defeat of joints in gout is always an "explosion", acute pain and a rapid increase in inflammation. In a short period of time, the disease can make life worse. A responsible attitude towards diet can prolong the asymptomatic course of gout for years, ie reduce the frequency of attacks, as well as the risk of further development of the disease.
Women suffer from gout 10 times less often than men and often after menopause. There are many reasons for this disease: genetic predisposition, impaired renal function, obesity. Also, gout usually occurs in people after 40-50 years. But the availability of food, especially fast food, and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to the “rejuvenation” of the disease.
Basic diet rules for gout
To clearly understand the principles of diet, you need to remember the main cause of gout. The disease is characterized by high levels of uric acid (sodium urate) in the blood. Over time, it accumulates in the joints, and later in the muscle tissues, forming tofus (cavities filled with solid deposits), kidney stones. Uric acid enters the body with the help of purines: protein elements in our food.
Some chemistry
Purine degradation is a common biochemical reaction that produces urate. They leave the body in the urine, that is, they are excreted by the kidneys. Urates are a natural antioxidant, a substance that prevents premature cell breakdown.
What happens to gout? Urate levels rise sharply and the substance begins to crystallize on the joints.
The surface of the articular head has a smooth cartilaginous structure. Sharp crystals, of course, damage it. The person begins to feel severe pain when moving the limbs. The inflammatory process begins.
Dietary basis
From a brief chemical analysis, it is clear that purines are formed by the breakdown of their own protein compounds and enter the bloodstream. So, if possible, you need to exclude protein products from your diet.
Cut down on meat and fish as this food increases purines. There should be no beef, lamb or pork on the diet table. Large amounts of salt should be discarded. If possible, it is best to completely remove salt and hot spices from your diet. This already has to do with the preservation of the kidneys, because with gout, the kidneys are under direct threat.
As with any diet, gout should be avoided. Any alcohol (beer - especially for gout) is contraindicated, it delays the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys, which contributes to its accumulation in the blood. A “low purine” diet will help minimize or eliminate the occurrence of gout.
Proper nutrition for gout - 50% successful treatment
Following certain dietary guidelines will slow the progression of the disease. Gout will be without difficulty.
To make it easier to imagine the purine content of the products, we offer examples:
- Bread with bran - 24 mg; Legumes - 105 mg; Herring - 128 mg;
- Livers of cattle - 300 mg;
- Fatty fish from the salmon family - 100 mg;
- Chicken meat - 110 mg;
- Rabbit meat - 65 mg;
- Tongue and beef - 72-100 mg.
You can create such a table yourself with a list of products you like. They should contain a minimum amount of purines.
Special dietary guidelines
It is recommended to remove all fried foods from the diet and switch to cooked, stewed, baked foods that contain little salt. Unfortunately, fish and meat soups will also need to be removed. When preparing these rich soups, a significant portion of the purines go into the broth.
It is useful to organize fasting days as well as for any other diet. In addition to getting rid of leg pain, you will also lose extra pounds. This is a nice bonus for maintaining your figure (and not just for women). The essence of the day of fasting is the consumption of only vegetables and fruits. Divide the meal into 5-6 parts and eat up to 1, 5 kg of vegetables and fruits. If there is no desire for such a fasting day, then just buy low-fat kefir. Drink it during the day. We advise you to adhere to this system at least once a week.
During the worsening of gout, it is better to "unload" the body every other day. Once the inflammation subsides, you can return to your usual diet schedule.
Important!You must not starve from gout! As much as you want, don’t skip any day without food.
Gout food
You can get competent nutrition advice from your doctor or dietitian. This article provides general information and nutrition guidelines for people who have gout. However, each organism is unique, so it is worth choosing an individual food list and diet schedule. Keep a food diary.
List of foods that can be consumed or restricted for use
The list of foods that can be consumed and should be limited is presented in one list below.
- Lean dietary meat: rabbit, turkey, chicken;
- 3-4 times a week - non-carbonated alkaline water. For example, Narzan. Pay attention to the sodium content in such bottled water, it should be low;
- Fruit drinks, dried fruit compotes, green tea;
- All cereals;
- Eggs;
- Lean fish: sea giant, hake, pike. All river fish;
- Dairy products: kefir, fermented baked milk, sour cream, milk, but with a reduced fat content - no more than 2, 5%;
- Vegetable oil;
- Potatoes;
- Rye or bran bread;
- Low fat and unsalted cheeses;
- Stewed or raw vegetables.
- Radish, eggplant, parsnip;
- Fruit can be eaten fresh;
- Berries;
- Homemade baked food;
- Legumes, asparagus, rhubarb, spinach. These herbs contain a high content of oxalic acid which retains urate in the body;
- Mushrooms
- Nuts
Forbidden basket of gout foods for women and men
In the gout diet, restrictions apply to protein foods, it is recommended to focus on carbohydrates in the diet. What about those who are overweight and the question of how to lose weight is constantly on the agenda? And also for those who have diabetes? In contrast, these people need a low-carbohydrate diet.
A low-carb, low-protein diet is two mutually exclusive diets. Which diet to choose? In such cases, it is recommended to limit yourself precisely in carbohydrates and the first three items from the list of forbidden foods. Why? We will summarize in the next chapter.
We have listed some of the allowed products. The general list of prohibited products is as follows:
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks. All drinks that can be called "tonic", packaged juices;
- Fish and meat soup
- Seafood: shrimp, mussels, squid
- By-products: liver, tongue, kidneys, heart;
- Confectionery products such as: ice cream, bakery products, fresh cheese desserts;
- Foods high in salt;
- Canned meat and fish. In general, it is worth giving up canned foods;
- Fatty dairy products: cream, sour cream, cheeses;
- Salted fish, smoked sausages, sausages, ham and other semi-finished products. Such products contain harmful additives and preservatives. For example, monosodium glutamate is usually added to improve flavor;
General dietary principle
So why, given such clear rules, is there still a possibility that they may not be strict with their products, especially for women? Why, if you need to choose between different diets, give preference to protein? Although proteins, as we have learned, are the cause of the appearance of uric acid in the blood.
Important!Uric acid levels are effectively maintained by medication.
As a reminder, an anti-gout diet is part of preventative treatment. Its second component is taking medications that reduce the formation of uric acid. Now these drugs are so effective that by increasing the dosage the doctor must monitor the achievement of the target values of uric acid in the blood. The better you stick to your child against gout, the lower the dose of medication. And medicines are taken for many years, because the disease is chronic.
Doctors usually recommend the following with regard to diet:
- BMI should be between 18, 5 and 25
- if your BMI is over 25, lose weight! If you lose 5-7 kg, it will significantly reduce the further development of gout
- eat a Mediterranean diet
Also:
- frequent and broken meals in small meals up to 6 times a day;
- energy value about 1500-1800 kcal per day;
- minimum amount of table salt and purine-containing foods;
- should drink about 2 liters of water a day (especially for those who already have kidney stones);
- post is forbidden.
Gout Products
The following are considered folk remedies for gout:
- pineapple;
- turmeric;
- cherry juice;
- lemon;
- ginger;
- cap.
Try green tea with ginger. The drink has the desired "diuretic effect". Green tea has been proven to be an anti-cancer agent, which is also good. But the truth is, this is a whole other story.
Summary
Listed products that are classified as “banned”, even in small doses, will make gout worse. Remember that this disease cannot be cured, so you need to completely reconsider your attitude towards food. So you can live peacefully without joint pain.
In open sources, women will find healthy and delicious recipes that are intentionally not published here so as not to overwhelm the information. Keep your diet proper and your gout diet your way of life. Be healthy!