For gout (or gouty arthritis), doctors usually focus on diet. The importance of diet is undeniable, approaches and recommendations are changing, but diet is still viewed as part of the preventative treatment for gout exacerbations to minimize its recurrence.
The defeat of the joints with gout is always an "explosion", acute pain and a rapid increase in inflammation. In a short period of time, an illness can make life unhappy. A responsible diet can prolong the asymptomatic course of gout for years, that is, reduce the frequency of attacks, as well as reduce the risk of further development of the disease.
Women suffer ten times less often from gout than men and often after the menopause. There are many reasons for this disease: genetic predisposition, impaired kidney function, obesity. Also, gout usually occurs in people after 40-50 years. However, the availability of food, especially fast food, and a sedentary lifestyle help "rejuvenate" the disease.
Basic nutritional rules for gout
To have a clear understanding of nutritional principles, 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 tissue and forms tophus (cavities filled with solid debris). Kidney stones appear. Uric acid enters the body with the help of purines: protein elements in our food.
Some chemistry
Purine breakdown is a common biochemical reaction that produces urates. They leave the body with urine, that is, they are excreted by the kidneys. Urates are a natural antioxidant, a substance that prevents the premature breakdown of cell tissue.
What happens to gout? The urate level rises sharply and the substance begins to crystallize on the joints.
The surface of the joint head has a smooth cartilage structure. Sharp crystals will naturally damage it. The person begins to experience severe pain when moving the limbs. The inflammatory process begins.
Diet base
A brief chemical analysis shows that purines arise from the breakdown of their own protein compounds and get into the bloodstream. If possible, you need to exclude protein products from the diet.
Cut down on meat and fish as these foods increase purines. There should be no beef, lamb, or pork on the food table. Large amounts of salt should be discarded. Whenever possible, it is best to completely remove salt and hot spices from the diet. This has to do with kidney preservation, since gout directly threatens the kidneys.
As with any diet, alcohol should be avoided in gout. Any alcohol (beer - mainly for gout) is contraindicated for you. It delays the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys, which contributes to its accumulation in the blood. A “low-purine” diet helps minimize or eliminate the occurrence of gout.
Proper nutrition for gout - 50% successful treatment
If you follow certain dietary guidelines, you will slow the progression of the disease. The gout will be uneventful.
In order to better imagine the purine content of products, we offer examples:
- bran bread - 24 mg;
- legumes - 105 mg;
- herring - 128 mg;
- liver of large horned animals - 300 mg;
- oily fish of the salmon family - 100 mg;
- chicken meat - 110 mg;
- rabbit meat - 65 mg;
- tongue and meat of cattle - 72-100 mg.
You can create such a table yourself and list the products you love. They should contain a minimum amount of purines.
Special dietary guidelines
It is recommended that you remove all fried foods from your diet and switch to cooked, steamed and low-salt baked goods. Unfortunately, fish and meat broths also have to be removed. When making these rich soups, a significant portion of the purines go into the broth.
As with any other diet, it is useful to arrange fasting days. In addition to getting rid of the pain in your legs, you will also lose those extra pounds. This is a nice bonus for keeping your figure (and not just for women). The essence of fasting days is to consume only vegetables and fruits. Divide the meal into 5-6 parts and eat up to 1. 5 kg of vegetables and fruits. If you have no desire for such a fasting day, just buy low-fat kefir. Also, drink it all day. We recommend that you stick to this system at least once a week.
During the exacerbation of gout, it is better to "discharge" the body every other day. Once the inflammation has subsided, you can return to your normal eating plan.
Important!You mustn't starve to death after gout! Don't skip a day without eating as much as you want.
Food for gout
You can get competent advice about nutrition from your doctor or nutritionist. This article provides general information and dietary guidelines for people with gout. However, since every organism is unique, it is worth choosing an individual food list and a nutrition plan. Keep a food journal.
List of foods that can be consumed or restricted to use
A list of foods that can be consumed and that should be limited is given in a list below.
- Lean food meat: rabbit, turkey, chicken;
- 3-4 times a week - still alkaline mineral water. For example Narzan. Pay attention to the sodium level in such bottled water, it should be low;
- fruit drinks, dried fruit compotes, green tea;
- grain;
- eggs;
- Lean fish: pollock, hake, pike. All river fish;
- Dairy products: kefir, fermented baking 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 cheese;
- Braised or raw vegetables.
- Radish, eggplant, parsnip;
- Fruit can be eaten fresh;
- berries;
- Homemade baked goods;
- Legumes, asparagus, rhubarb, spinach. These plants contain high levels of oxalic acid, which hold back the urate in the body.
- mushrooms
- nuts
Prohibited shopping basket for gout in women and men
In the gout diet, restrictions relate to protein foods. It is recommended to focus on carbohydrates in the diet. What about obese people and how to lose weight is always on the agenda? And for diabetics too? Conversely, these people need a low-carbohydrate diet.
A low-carbohydrate and a low-protein diet are mutually exclusive. Which diet to chooseIn such cases, it is recommended to focus on carbohydrates and the first three items from the list of prohibited foods. Why? We will summarize in the next chapter.
We have listed some of the permitted products. The general list of prohibited foods is as follows:
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks. All beverages that can be referred to as "tonic" are packaged juices;
- Fish and meat broths
- Seafood: prawns, mussels, squid
- by-products: liver, tongue, kidneys, heart;
- Confectionery such as: ice cream, baked goods, cottage cheese desserts;
- foods that contain large amounts of salt;
- Canned meat and fish. In general, it is worth avoiding canned food.
- Fatty dairy products: cream, sour cream, cheese;
- 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 taste;
General nutritional principle
Given such clear rules, why is there still a chance that they will not be strictly enforced in relation to products, especially women? When you have to choose between different diets, why do you prefer protein? Although they are proteins, as we found out, they are what cause uric acid to appear in the blood.
Important!Uric acid levels are effectively maintained with medication.
As a reminder: The gout diet is part of preventive treatment. The second component is taking drugs that reduce the build-up of uric acid. Now these drugs are so effective that the doctor must monitor the achievement of the target uric acid levels in the blood by increasing the dosage. The better you can stick to a gout diet, the lower the dosage of medication. And medication has been used for many years because the disease is chronic.
Doctors generally recommend the following regarding diet:
- Your BMI should be between 18, 5 and 25.
- If your BMI is over 25, you will lose weight! If you lose 5-7 kg, the further development of gout willsignificantly reduced
- eat a Mediterranean diet
Also:
- frequent and fractionated meals in small portions up to 6 times a day; The
- energy value is approximately 1500-1800 kcal per day;
- Minimum amount of table salt and foods containing purine;
- needs to drink about 2 liters of water a day (especially for those who already have kidney stones);
- Fasting is prohibited.
Gout control products
The following remedies are considered folk remedies for gout:
- pineapple;
- turmeric;
- cherry juice;
- lemon;
- ginger;
- peppers.
Try green tea with ginger. The drink has the desired "diuretic effect". Green tea has been shown to be a cancer cure, which is good too. But the truth is that this is a whole different story.
Summary
The listed products, which are classified as "prohibited" even in small doses, make gout worse. Remember that this disease cannot be cured. You need to completely rethink your attitude towards food. So you can live peacefully with no joint pain.
In open sources women can find useful and tasty recipes that are purposely not published here in order not to be overloaded with information. Make eating right and diet for gout your lifestyle. Health!