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Gout - Foods to avoid!

Click to Download Info Sheet on Gout and Foods to avoid

Gout is up there as one of the worst pains human beings can suffer, along with kidney stones and child-birth!

If you are a sufferer, you will know how painful it is!

As my uncle Jim once remarked "I felt like chopping my foot off with an axe!"

You will also know that it is a myth that old men who drink port get gout!

Yes, it is true that alcohol can spark it off if you drink heavily and so can certain foods - some things contribute to the build up of uric acid in the blood and suddenly crystals form in your joint and it is like your bones rubbing together! Horrible!

So, for me and other gout sufferers out there, anything that helps avoid an episode is certainly something to shout about! Tablets control the build up of uric acid - but even so, you might get gout once or twice a year if you are unlucky.

Here is a list of foods to be careful about!

Purine content of foods

Group A: 0-50mg purine per 100g (OK to eat!)

fruits
vegetables (all except those in group B (runner/green/string beans, French beans, mange-tout and sugar-snap peas are alright)
cereals - all except those in group B (most bread and cakes, most breakfast cereals, biscuits, rice, barley, couscous, polenta and pasta are permitted in moderation)
dairy products (milk, cream, yoghurt, ice-cream, cheese, eggs - bearing in mind the high fat content of most dairy products)
fats, within reasonable calorie limits (butter, most cooking oils, lard, 'shortening',salad dressing, mayonnaise)
nuts - but not peanuts or cashew nuts, and preferably not salted nuts
olives
preserves (jam, marmalade, chutney, pickles) and sweets
beverages, including tea, coffee, soft drinks (but these may contain caffeine)

Group B: 50-150mg purine per 100g (Eat some only!)

poultry (chicken, duck, turkey, goose)
red meats (veal, beef, lamb, pork, bacon) and sausages
fish - except those in group C
oysters, mussels and most other shellfish, prawns, shrimps, scampi, wholegrain bread and pasta
wholegrain cereals (including oatmeal, brown rice and tahini)
lentils, soya beans, soya flour, bean curd, tofu, tempeh, miso, hummus, peas and beans, including chickpeas
peanuts, peanut butter, cashew nuts, ground nuts
brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli/calabrese, kale, brussels sprouts, 'chinese greens')
spinach, asparagus, avocado and mushrooms
quorn

Group C: 150-1,000mg purine per 100g (AVOID these!)

wild or farmed game (pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit/hare, venison)
organ meats (kidney, heart, sweetbreads, liver, pate, terrine, liver sausage, foie gras)
extracts of meat and yeast (Bovril, Oxo, Marmite, Vegemite - although check recipes as many companies have improved their products!)
fish roe (cod roe, caviar, taramasalata)
scallops, herrings, mackerel, trout
crayfish, lobster
small fish eaten whole or processed (anchovies, sardines, sprats, whitebait, anchovy paste, gentlemen's relish, thai fish sauce)

You may find that even when you eat some of the foods on the avoid list you don't get gout - but you might want to cut down your chances by reducing the amount you do eat! After all, some people get blind drunk, get away with it (i.e. wake up alive the next day!) and then think it is ok to do it again - but of course the truth is it will get you in the end!