Gout Diet To Lower Uric Acid With Diet Chart

May 1, 2019 by Charushila Biswas

ISSA Certified Specialist in Fitness & Nutrition

Is your painful gout giving you sleepless nights and inhibiting you from moving around? Are the medicines giving you only temporary relief? Then, you need to find a permanent or long-lasting solution to this serious problem. And one of the best solutions is to watch what you eat.

Since gout is caused due to the over accumulation of uric acid, a proper low uric acid diet will not only help your medicines work but also give you permanent relief. So gear up, read this article to know what kind of diet you should follow, foods to eat and avoid, and much more. But first, let’s find out more about gout and how a low uric acid diet will help.

What Is Gout?

Image: Shutterstock

Gout is a painful inflammatory disorder of the joints triggered due to a metabolic disorder. It is caused due to overaccumulation of uric acid or uric acid crystal formation in the synovial fluid. This fluid is found in between all the joints, and it acts as a lubricant. Uric acid is the waste product of chemicals called purines. Overaccumulation of uric acid takes place when the kidneys fail to excrete this waste effectively.

In some cases, it also occurs when the body is unable to produce the enzymes involved in the metabolism of uric acid. Due to an increase in the levels of uric acid, the synovial fluid becomes less effective in lubricating the joints. This causes friction and leads to inflammation, swelling, and unbearable pain. The joints become sensitive, red, and overheated (1) (2).

How Does Low Uric Acid Diet Help Gout?

Uric acid is the waste product of purines that are found in many foods, such as seafood, poultry, meat, beer, etc. If your body is unable to process or eliminate uric acid, and that is causing painful inflammation in the joints, it is best to consume foods that are low in purines or limit the consumption of foods rich in purines. This will give your body enough time to eliminate uric acid from the system and lower the uric acid levels in the blood and synovial fluid. This, in turn, will cause less friction between the bones and alleviate the inflammation and swelling.

Let’s find out what foods you should consume more, foods you should completely avoid, and foods you can have in limited quantities.

List Of Foods For Gout

Image: Shutterstock

Food To Eat More

Vegetables – Spinach, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, beetroot, green peas, potato, and collard greens
Fruits – Cherry, strawberry, blueberry, lemon, lime, grapefruit, oranges, pineapple, pear, and clementine
Proteins – Mushrooms, pinto beans, and other legumes
Carbs – Pasta, white flour, and bread
Grains – Rice, couscous, and quinoa
Beverages – Water, fresh lemon juice, fresh cherry juice, buttermilk, tea, and coffee
Others – Nuts, parsley, flax seeds, and apple cider vinegar

Foods To Eat In Moderation

Vegetables & Fruits – Tomato
Protein – Chicken and salmon
Grains – Oats
Dairy – Low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, and eggs
Fats & Oils – Peanut butter and olive oil

Foods To Avoid

Proteins – Sardine, mackerel, anchovies, tuna, trout, herring, codfish, haddock, beef, bacon, pork, ham, veal, liver, scallops, duck, turkey, tofu, lobster, crab, squid, shellfish, oyster, and shrimps
Carbs – Sweetbread
Beverages – Alcohol and packaged fruit juices
Fats & Oils – Animal fat, mayonnaise, and butter
Others – High fructose corn syrup and chicken/fish/meat broth

Now that you have got an idea about the foods, it will be easier to follow a proper diet plan. The next section has a sample diet plan and you can use it as a template to design your own diet plan. Take a look.

Low Uric Acid Diet Plan

Image: Shutterstock

Meals

What To Eat

Early Morning

(7:00-7:30 am)

1 cup water with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Breakfast

(8:15- 8:45 pm)

Options:

A medium bowl quinoa + 1 cup coffee
1 white bread with peanut butter and blueberries + 1 cup grapefruit juice
1 egg boiled or scrambled + 1 bread + 1 cup fresh orange juice

Mid-Morning Snack

(10:30 – 11:00 am)

½ cup cherries

Lunch

(12:30 – 1:00 pm)

Options:

Baked 3 oz salmon (without skin) and broccoli
Green leafy veggie salad
Boiled chickpea salad

Evening Snack

(4:00 – 4:30 pm)

Options:

1 cup green tea
1 cup cherry/pineapple juice

Dinner

(7.00-7:30 pm)

Options:

2 oz grilled chicken with asparagus and mashed potatoes
Spinach pasta

Why This Works

Apple cider vinegar is rich in vitamin C, which is highly recommended for those suffering from gout. It also has other health benefits as well, such as boosting the metabolic rate and immunity. Always have a heavy breakfast before heading out. In this diet plan, low-uric acid breakfast options are listed. They are filling, nutritious, and keep your energy levels up. Since cherries are the go-to fruit for treating gout, have half a cup of cherries as a mid-morning snack. Keep your lunch light.

Green tea is great for an evening snack as it helps to scavenge the harmful oxygen radicals and reduces inflammation. If not green tea, a cup of fresh cherry juice or pineapple juice is great for reducing the inflammation. You may have chicken in moderate amounts for dinner. Potatoes are good for you, but make sure not to use full-fat cream to prepare the mashed potatoes. Both spinach and pasta are allowed foods, and the combo is a great option for dinner.

If you are a picky eater or allergic to any of the foods listed in the diet plan, here are the foods you can substitute them with.

Substitutes

Apple cider vinegar – Lemon or lime juice
Quinoa – 3 tablespoons of oats
Coffee – Green tea
White bread – Brown bread
Peanut butter – Flax seed butter
Blueberries – Strawberries
Grapefruit juice – Orange juice
Egg – 3 medium-sized button mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
Orange juice – Pineapple juice or lemon juice
Cherries – Blueberries or strawberries
Salmon – 2 oz chicken
Broccoli – Spinach
Green leafy veggie salad – Vegetable clear soup
Chickpea – 3 tablespoons yellow lentil soup
Green tea – Coffee
Cherry juice – Strawberry juice
Pineapple juice – Orange juice
Chicken – 2 oz duck or 3 oz salmon (without skin)
Asparagus – Spinach
Mashed potato – Mashed green peas and broccoli
Pasta – Rice

So, you have a lot of options to choose from, which makes this diet plan is super easy to follow. However, there is one more factor that affects the severity of gout. And it is getting enough exercise or movement. Explained more in the next section.

Exercises To Treat Gout

Image: Shutterstock

Lack of exercise can worsen your gout. Hence, you should include gout-friendly exercises in your workout regimen. Make sure you consult your doctor before you start working out. Here is what you can do.

Cycling
Walking
Swimming
Stair climbing
Dancing
Stretching
Strength training
Yoga

Some people need an extra boost of nutrition apart from eating low-uric acid foods. For this reason, we recommend you take the support of supplements and other remedies to reduce the inflammation. Here is what you should do.

Supplement & Other Remedies To Treat Gout

Image: Shutterstock

You may take the following supplements or try other remedies.

Vitamin C supplements
Quercetin and Folic acid supplements
Ashwagandha
Castor oil
Dandelion root
Pine bark extract
Grape seed extract
Celery seed extract

Consult your doctor before taking or using any of the above-mentioned supplements and remedies.

To sum it up, following a low-uric acid diet will help you get rid of inflammation and swelling, reduce joint pain, help you move freely, uplift your mood, and increase your productivity. Sounds like a better idea than popping pills and getting temporary relief? Absolutely! What are you waiting for? Follow this low-uric acid diet plan and exercise regularly to say goodbye to gout.