Foods to Avoid When Suffering From Gout

With gout, excess uric acid crystallizes in the joints causing the intolerable pain gout sufferers are so familiar with. Among other things, gout is caused by improper diet. This article will look into foods and drinks a gout sufferer should avoid. They include:

Red meat

Studies show that regular consumption of red meat increases the risk of getting gout by over 20%. This is due to the high concentration of animal purine in these meats. Overconsumption causes the excess uric acid to be deposited in the joints and thus gout. A gout sufferer should avoid all types of red meat for this reason. In addition to this, he should drink a lot of water on a daily basis to clean out excess uric acid from the kidneys and blood. Some red meat to avoid include: game meat like venison and buffalo meat, beef, goat meat, mutton, lamb meat etc.

Sea food

This is another food that has high purine content and should be avoided by the gout sufferer. Foods from the sea to stay away from include herring, mackerel, anchovies and sardines. A gout sufferer should also avoid oysters, calamari, sushi, crabs and scallops. While going off these foods, a gout sufferer is advised to drink a lot of milk and other dairy products. Dairy products help by decreasing the levels of uric acid in the body due to its alkaline nature. Drinking between one to five glasses a day will substantially decrease the pain while at the same time making your body healthier.

Fast foods

Most of these foods are made of ingredients with high purine content like red meat, anchovies etc. A person is advised to avoid fast foods that contain purines. This does not mean that a person has to give up all fast foods and the convenience associated with it. The gout patient should be more analytical when making his selections. Some foods to avoid are hamburgers, pizzas with anchovies and meat, meat sandwiches etc. A gout sufferer should limit the number of times he consumes these foods to a bare minimum.

Beverages

There are drinks that cause the development and aggravation of gout. It is scientifically proven that people that drink alcohol on a regular basis have double the likelihood of developing gout when compared to a non-drinker. It goes without saying that a gout sufferer should avoid all drinks with alcohol. They include beer, wine, whiskey, rum etc. There are canned alcohol-containing energy drinks that a gout patient should avoid like Sparks, Spykes etc.

These drinks have a high purine content which is broken down into uric acid. The excess uric acid will crystallize in the joints and the pain will multiply.

A healthy diet plays a large role in a gout patient’s quest to regain a pain-free existence.