Common Foods that Should Be Avoided by Gout Patients
Common Foods That Should Be Avoided by Gout Patients is a guest article…
People should be aware that there are a lot of factors that can trigger gout attacks. These include certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol in the blood, and arteriosclerosis or narrowing of arteries.
Medications such as diuretics and even low dose aspirin can trigger gout attacks because these increase uric acid levels. The risk also increases if other family members are suffering from gout. Males are also more prone to have it than females.
Probably the most controllable of these risk factors is the diet. Unknowingly, there are common foods that can increase gout risk. These include foods high in protein and those high in purines. These cause increased levels of uric acid in the body which can become crystals in the joints. These crystals cause inflammation and pain, frequently in the big toe.
Seafood such as scallops, mackerel, anchovies, herring, sardines, and salmon are some of those with the highest purine content. Shrimp and crab should also be avoided.
Organ meats such as liver, kidneys, brains, heart, and beef tongue are high in purines. These should be limited or avoided especially during a gout attack.
Meats like beef, pork, and lamb should be limited as well. Game meats such as pheasant, squirrel, grouse, and deer meat have fairly high levels of purines. Limit the serving size of meats to two to three ounces per day. Poultry such as turkey and chicken are regarded as having moderately high amounts so these can be eaten in moderation.
Processed meat such as hot dogs, bacon, lunch meats, sausages, bologna, salami, and pepperoni can also cause gout when eaten in large amounts.
Vegetables that are moderately high in purines include peas, lentils, asparagus, mushrooms, and cauliflower. These vegetables should be taken in moderation so as not to increase the gout risk.
Cherries have been seen to have anti inflammatory properties. In a study, a cup of cherries appeared to control future flare ups of gout. Extract of cherries or gout supplement with wild cherry can also be taken along with the usual gout medications to prevent gout attacks.
You can get much more information in detail about which foods to avoid for gout and which gout foods to eat, plus, a whole raft of natural gout remedies by clicking here.
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