Restricting dietary purines

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Dietary guidelines to restrict purine content - which causes uric acid - include the following:

• Water – Drink at least 6 glasses per day and make sure that you have one of the glasses before you go to sleep. It helps getting rid of uric acid.
• Tofu (bean curd) - Use as protein source. Research suggests that it increases uric acid secretion.
• Macronutrients – Diet should be relatively high in carbohydrate (like bread, rice and pasta), moderate in protein (e.g. tofu) and low in fat.
• Alcohol – An excess of alcohol should be avoided. Total abstinence and avoidance of alcohol may be required in severe cases.
• Body weight – Maintenance of, or gradual reduction to, ideal body weight could prove helpful.

Foods with a high purine content
These foods contain 100 to 1000 mg of purine nitrogen per 100 g of food. Patients suffering from gout should not eat the foods included in this list:

• Anchovies
• Brains
• Consommé
• Goose
• Gravy
• Heart
• Herring
• Kidney
• Mackerel
• Meat extracts
• Mincemeat
• Mussels
• Roe
• Sardines
• Yeast (baker’s and brewer’s, taken as supplement)

Foods with a moderate purine content
These foods contain 9 to 100 mg of purine nitrogen per 100 g of food. One serving of meat, fish or poultry (90 g) or one serving of vegetables (1/2 cup) from this group, is allowed per day, depending on the condition of the patient:

• Asparagus
• Dried beans
• Lentils
• Meat, fish and poultry (except the above-mentioned)
• Mushrooms
• Dried peas
• Shellfish
• Spinach

Foods with a low purine content
These foods contain negligible amounts of purine and may be used daily:

• Bread (white) and crackers
• Butter or margarine (in moderation)
• Cake and cookies
• Carbonated beverages
• Cereals
• Cheese
• Chocolate
• Coffee
• Cream (in moderation)
• Custard
• Eggs
• Fats (in moderation)
• Fruit
• Gelatin desserts
• Herbs
• Ice cream
• Milk
• Noodles
• Nuts
• Oil
• Olives
• Pickles
• Pasta
• Popcorn
• Puddings
• Relishes
• Rice
• Salt
• Sugar and sweets
• Tea
• Vegetables (except those mentioned in the first group)
• Vinegar

Source: Krause’s Food, Nutrition, & Diet therapy, 10th edition (Mahan LK, Escott-Stump S)

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