Gout has become the second largest metabolic disease after diabetes. As of 2017, there are over 80 million gout patients in China! There is a saying: Gout is the arthritis of the rich, while rheumatism is the arthritis of the poor. Although the causes of gout are complex, diet plays a significant role. Consuming rich foods, excessive meat, tobacco, alcohol, and seafood can lead to high uric acid levels in the body, triggering gout. Therefore, gout patients must take the issue of “disease comes from the mouth” seriously.
Eating these foods more frequently can result in more gout attacks:
1. Alcohol
Alcohol acts as a “catalyst” for gout, hindering the metabolism of purines, leading to increased uric acid levels and affecting uric acid excretion. Whether it’s rice wine, yellow wine, white wine, or beer, they are not suitable for consumption. Even red wine, if consumed regularly, can trigger gout attacks.
2. Organ meats and seafood
Organ meats and seafood are high-purine foods. Gout patients should avoid them as much as possible and especially during outbreaks. This includes shellfish, shrimp, mackerel, sardines, salmon, caviar, dried fish, and squid.
Seafood with lower purine content like jellyfish, sea cucumber, and tuna can be consumed in moderation.
3. High-sugar foods
An increase in fructose levels in the blood can lead to higher uric acid levels. Various sugary beverages, cakes, desserts, chocolates, bread, etc., should be consumed with caution, and it’s advisable to check the ingredients carefully.
4. Broth
Long-cooked broths like pork rib soup and duck soup have high purine content. Gout patients should avoid consuming them. Guangdong province has the highest number of gout patients in China, with an average of 2 out of 10 people being gout patients. This is closely related to the high consumption of soups in Guangdong.
5. Seasonings
Seasonings like oyster sauce, seafood sauce, and concentrated chicken broth, derived from animals or seafood, have high purine content. Adding these seasonings frequently to dishes unknowingly raises uric acid levels in the body, increasing the chances of gout attacks.
6. Dry beans
Various dry beans such as soybeans, black beans, green beans, and red beans are high in purines. Gout patients should strictly control their intake. However, bean products with high water content have significantly lower purine content and can be consumed in moderation.
7. Vegetables and whole grains
While vegetables generally have much lower purine content than meat, some like pea shoots, soybean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower, and nori contain higher purine levels. Gout patients should avoid overeating them, especially during acute attacks. Coarse grains like buckwheat and whole grain cereals contain relatively high purine levels, leading to increased blood uric acid levels when consumed excessively. Tomatoes contain chlorogenic acid that inhibits the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys; excessive consumption can raise uric acid levels.
8. Strong tea and coffee
Strong tea, coffee, and similar beverages can cause nervous excitement and trigger acute gout attacks. Gout patients should consume them in moderation.
For gout patients, most fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, rice, noodles, etc., are safe to consume.
The best and most effective “medicine” for reducing gout is plain water. Drinking an adequate amount of water, both in regular times and during gout attacks, helps increase urination, decrease uric acid, and shorten the duration of gout attacks.
It is recommended to ensure a daily intake of over 2,000 ml of water. Adding baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), corn silk, tea leaves, lemon, etc., to water can help reduce uric acid levels.
Additionally, these 3 teas are effective in reducing uric acid levels and preventing gout:
Poria Tea: Boil an adequate amount of poria in water for consumption. Poria has a good diuretic effect, promoting the excretion of uric acid salts, improving swelling and urinary difficulties caused by gout.
Plantain Seed Tea: Mix plantain seeds, summer cypress, earth dragon, and schisandra chinensis, boil them in water, and drink this tea daily. It can promote diuresis, reduce swelling, lower uric acid concentration, prevent gout stones, and kidney stones.
Chicory Tea: Soak 10g of chicory, 5g of gardenia, and 2g each of mulberry leaves and kudzu root in water for drinking. Chicory polysaccharides can significantly reduce uric acid, blood sugar, and regulate blood lipids. Gardenia clears heat and detoxifies, mulberry leaves disperse wind-heat, nourish the lungs, and kudzu root has hypoglycemic and uric acid-lowering effects.
