Gout Purine Diet - Arthritis Help

A gout purine diet contains foods that are low in purine which is a substance that’s normally found in foods and is also produced by the body. When purines are broken down in the body they turn into uric acid, but in gouty arthritis uric acid builds up.  The body may produce too much uric acid or the kidneys are not able to filter the uric acid out through urine so it accumulates.  Rather than taking drugs for gout, you can follow natural gout treatments.

Gout attacks occur when there’s a sudden change in uric acid in the body, but diet isn’t the only thing that can set off an attack.  Other contributing factors are stress, high fructose corn syrup, and alcohol since these increase the production of uric acid.

Following are lists of what to eat and what to avoid if you have gout. Everyone is different so you’ll have to find out what your triggers are, but this is a good starting place.

Gout What Not To Eat

• Anchovies.
• Fish such as sardines, herring and mackerel
• Scallops and mussels
• Goose, duck, and partridge
• Organ meats: brains, heart, kidney, liver, sweetbreads
• Broth, bouillon, and consommé
• Meat gravy
• Yeast supplements - baker’s and brewer’s

Also avoid

• Beer
• Red wine
• HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)

Eat Occasionally (a few times a week, more or less, depending on your symptoms and triggers)

• Fish and shellfish not listed above
• Chicken and turkey  
• Beef, pork, lamb, other red meats
• Dried beans, peas, lentils
• Asparagus
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Cauliflower
• Green peas
• Oats and oatmeal
• Wheat bran and germ
• Whole grain breads and cereals

Low Purine Foods (May eat three or more times per week if desired and depending on your personal symptoms and triggers.)

• Vegetables and vegetable juices not on the lists above
• Fruits and fruit juices
• Breads and cereals that are low in fiber
• Pasta and macaroni
• Rice
• Gelatin
• Cake and cookies (in moderation)
• Fats and oils in small amounts.
• Sugar, syrup, and other sweets in small amounts
• Eggs (limit to 3 to 4 per week).
• Nuts and nut butters
• Low-fat and fat-free cheeses, ice cream and pudding
• Milk: skim or 1% (limit to 3 cups per day)
• Cream-style soups made with low-fat milk
• Soups made without meat extract or broth

Also

• Coffee and tea

Lowest Purine foods (Enjoy as desired, though pay attention to your symptoms. Everyone is different!)

• Pineapple (very good for gout)
• Cherries (very good for gout)
• Celery (very good for gout) 
• Carrots 
• Potatoes (with skin) 
• Lettuce 
• Onion 
• Radishes 
• Apples
•  Pears 
• Rhubarb 
• Tomatoes 
• Cheese – cottage, brie, edam 
• Yogurt 
• Cucumber

Apple Cider Vinegar and Gout
 
Apple cider vinegar is said to be an excellent natural treatment for gout. 

• Make your own salad dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and your favorite herbs. 
• Mix a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water and add some stevia for a refreshing drink.  Take this up to three times a day and you’ll also detox your body and help aid digestion as well.

A low purine diet can help keep your gout under control. You don’t have to give up your favorite foods, but do eat more low purine foods and if you must eat a high purine food, be sure to balance it with a very low purine food to help offset any uric acid your body may build up.

Turmeric: Nature’s Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Root

May 18, 2010 

Some of the best Indian food I’ve ever tasted was cooked in London. I always knew that the British loved Indian cuisine and that they once held governance over India. What I didn’t know was that curry was introduced to Indian cuisine by the Brits. (Just a little fun fact to chew on.)

In countries like India where traditional cultures are thousands of years old, there are deep traditions of cooking daily meals with medicinal roots and herbs. These herbs act as preventive measures for sustaining good health, and prevention is the cornerstone of India’s traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Turmeric is one such medicinal root that has made its way into a vast number of Indian recipes. Aside from your standard chicken or goat curries, there is a whole list of Indian dishes that contain flavorful thermogenic ingredients like cardamom, coriander, ginger, cloves, chili and turmeric. Not only are the recipes tasty, the ones containing turmeric are especially healthful.

Research by Sarker and his colleagues notes turmeric’s powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and antioxidant properties. Moreover, the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have this to say: “Laboratory and animal research has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties of turmeric and its constituent curcumin.”

It is true that inflammation is a natural response your body has to potentially damaging stimuli. Catch a cold or sprain an ankle and the immune system kicks in and produces swelling to guard while healing takes place. But often the body does not know how or when to stop the inflammation and this causes too much fibrin in the tissues that can lead to pain and stiffness. If left untreated, it can become a chronic health issue.

Unlike aspirin or ibuprophen, turmeric’s curcumin reduces inflammation naturally, without damaging the liver or kidneys. It has been found especially helpful in treating conditions like arthritis, sports injuries, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, tendonitis and various autoimmune diseases. Some research even suggests that curcumin may also help those suffering asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and yes, even cancer.

Since turmeric’s curcumin component is an anti-inflammatory as well as an antioxident agent, it has been used for treating wounds, digestive disorders, liver issues, arthritis and in the prevention of cancer. Statistics also show that Asian children experience less incidence of leukemia than their Western counterparts and it seems a diet rich in turmeric may be the reason why.

Recent studies show that rats that were prone to multiple sclerosis developed very few if any symptoms after being given curcumin. The journal Science reported in their April 23, 2004, issue that curcumin has countered the genetic damage that leads to the lung disorder cystic fibrosis in mice test subjects. It was also shown that curcumin protects against alcohol’s damaging affects on the liver as well as harmonizing the stomach and digestion.

Thousands of scientific articles on the efficacy of curcumin are found within the NIH and NLM’s PubMed MEDLINE database. These show curcumin to be effective in the treatment of inflammation, wounds, cancer, heart disease and as a preventive measure against arthritis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), neurological diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, type-2 diabetes, cataracts, cystic fibrosis, scleroderma and many others.

As if that list were too small, as reported in the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Therapies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service lists nearly 80 biologic activities associated with curcumin, from anti-HIV to anti-ulcerogenic actions.

My advice: Everyone enjoy Indian food containing turmeric at least once a week as a symptomatic and preventive measure.

—Dr. Mark Wiley

References:
Cronin, J.R. "Curcumin: Old spice is a new medicine." Journal of Alternative & Complementary Therapies: Feb. 2003, pp. 34-38.

Egan, M.E., et al. “Curcumin, a Major Constituent of Turmeric, Corrects Cystic Fibrosis Defects.” Science, 23 April 2004 304: 600-602 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1093941] (in Reports)

National Institutes of Health. MedlinePlus Herbs and Supplements: "Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) and Curcumin," US Department of Health and Human Services; Natural Standard Research Collaboration: 2008 ed.: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-turmeric.html

Sarker, S.D., et al. "Bioactivity of Turmeric," Turmeric: The genus Curcuma; Medicinal and Aromatic Plants—Industrial Profiles, edited by Ravindran, P.N., et al. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2007.