Gout | What to eat and what not to eat

I read from some websites that say if one were to suffer from a gout attack it should avoid food with high purines.  So does that mean we can take food with low purines?  The answer is NO!

This is because other than avoiding high purine food, one should also focus on limiting oxalate-rich foods and fructose (a type of sugar that is high in fruit).  Oxalate, also called oxalic acid is an organic acid found in many plants and our body can produce oxalate on its own or obtain it from food.

For instance, some would claim that one can still consume Coffee, Tea, Eggplant, Almond, etc…if one were to be suffered from a gout attack as these are low purines food.  But if you were to take such foods, you might still be attacked by gout because such food is high in oxalate.

High Purine foods are:

1. Meat, especially red meat and organ meats like liver, kidney, and “sweetbreads”
2. Seafood and shellfish like anchovies, herring, mackerel, tuna, and scallops
3. Game meat like a rabbit, wild duck.

Oxalate-rich foods are:

1. Flour products – Flour is not high in purines but many flour-based foods contain yeast, which is purine-rich.  To maintain low oxalate and uric acid levels, consume yeast and flour-free starches such as rice, oats, quinoa, pearled barley and popcorn.
   1. Whole wheat flour, breads, crisp breads, fiber-rich cereals, buckwheat, amaranth and snack foods such as cake and baked chips.
   2. Yeast – sandwich bread, bagels, dinner rolls, pizza crust, pastries, and pretzels.
2. Fruit Juices – certain juice can raise your oxalate levels and lead to calcium oxalate kidney stone formation.
3. Nuts and Seeds – Nuts and Seeds are high in oxalate content.  Nuts and Seeds with the highest content are:
   1. Almonds, sesame seeds, cashews, pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, and macadamia nuts.
4. Vegetables – Vegetables rich in oxalate content are:
   1. Soybeans, beets, spinach, rhubarb, carrots, eggplant, okra, olives, all peppers, potatoes, zucchni and Swiss chard.
   2. Mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower and spinach
5. Others such as miso, tea, coffee, chocolate

High fructose foods are:

1. Soft drinks, especially those sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
2. Honey
3. Fruit, especially pears, apples, grapes, pomegranate, mango, banana, and their juices.

So what should one take?  Here is recommendation

1. Drink lots of water
2. Barley
3. Eat berries:  Cherries, blueberries, and cranberries
4. Eat more vegetarian such as quinoa(藜麦) , amaranth (苋菜)  and teff(画眉草)
5. Lemon Juice 

Supplement that can use to prevent gout attacks are:

1. Celergy seed extract
2. Stinging Nettle (荨麻) extract
3. Omega 3 fish oil
4. Folate

Reference: Treating Gout, The “Disease of King”