Diet for gout: what is useful, what is not

Properly composed diet will allow you to forget the excruciating pain in the joints and lead a full life. Let's talk about the gout diet: what's useful and what's not.

Gout is a chronic systemic metabolic disease that causes inflammation, swelling and pain in the joints. The disease is associated with the accumulation and retention in the body of uric acid salts - urates. Gout has been known since ancient times, its main symptoms were described by the doctors of antiquity. Many famous people suffered from gout, for example Alexander the Great, emperors and empresses, the English king Henry VIII, the German scientist Gottfried Leibniz, the philosophers Voltaire Kant and Schopenhauer.

Gout is still a very common disease. Most often, this disease affects men. As for the age at which the first attack usually occurs, in men it is 35-45 years and in women it is 45-50 years.

gout symptoms

A characteristic sign of gout is the formation of so-called tophi (deposition of uric acid salts in the form of nodules and bumps in the connective tissue). Gout sufferers complain of sharp pains in the joints - most often the big toe is affected. From the ancient Greek language, the name of the disease is translated as "leg in a trap", as very often patients are worried about acute pain in the joints of the feet. The intensity of the pain increases rapidly and peaks after approximately 24-48 hours. The joint area is red and swollen. Body temperature may rise, chills appear. Gout attacks are also unpleasant because they restrict the patient's movements. If you do not resort to appropriate treatment, the acute period lasts about a week, then the symptoms gradually subside. Gout can progress: pain attacks become more frequent, new joints, for example, elbows, hands, are involved in the pathological process. Due to the growth and enlargement of the nodes, the joints are deformed, their mobility and functionality are impaired. And this leads to movement problems: the patient becomes less mobile. In the later stages, gout can lead to the development of urolithiasis.

Depending on the nature of the course, the disease can be acute (acute gouty arthritis) or chronic (recurrent arthritis). There are also atypical forms of gout, for example, pseudophlemmon, asthenic, rheumatoid-like, etc. They are much less common.

Reasons for the development of the disease

As we have already mentioned, gout develops when a lot of uric acid is formed in the body, which is not readily excreted from the body. A large number of factors can contribute to this. Here are the main causes of high uric acid levels and the development of gout.

• hereditary predisposition. Most often, it manifests itself in the form of various genetic disorders, in which the amount of one or another enzyme is reduced in the body.
• Increased intake of purine bases in the body. These substances are contained in the DNA and RNA of living organisms and are involved in the transfer of hereditary information. The bases of purines enter the body with food, drink, and also during the decay of the body's cells. In the Middle Ages, gout was called the "disease of kings". This is explained by the love of the nobility for large meals. The body of those who abused meat, food and alcohol (and there are mainly purines) could not cope with the huge concentration of uric acid. Ordinary people ate poorly, mainly plant foods, and therefore rarely suffered from gout.
• Problems with uric acid excretion in the urine. It is usually seen in chronic kidney disease. It is generally accepted that gout in these cases is secondary, that is, a consequence of another disease. If it is eliminated, the gout will also disappear.

Treatment and prevention of gout

Successful gout treatment is an integrated approach. If possible, specialists try to determine the root cause of the disease and eliminate it. However, this is not always possible, so it is necessary to limit oneself to symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating the manifestations of the disease and improving the quality of life of those suffering from gout.

The main directions in the treatment of gout

• Medical treatmentwith anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory drugs. Anti-inflammatory drugs are mainly taken during an exacerbation to relieve pain and swelling. Antigout - for a long time, sometimes for a lifetime. This is a group of medicines that directly affect the metabolism of purine bases and uric acid in the body.
• local treatment.It is prescribed both during the period of remission and during exacerbation. It consists in the use of compresses with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as physiotherapy procedures. During the period of remission, applications with paraffin, therapeutic mud are useful: this helps to eliminate urates and improves joint mobility.
• Surgery.Allocate with a strong growth of nodes and cones. They are removed to avoid severe deformation of the joints and limit their mobility.
• Diet.Diet plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of gout. The main goal of such a diet is to reduce the content of uric acid compounds in the body. If the therapeutic and prophylactic diet is followed, purine bases practically do not enter the body from the outside, and the level of uric acid decreases. By limiting the consumption or completely eliminating some foods from the diet, we prevent the development of the disease and postpone the next attack. A therapeutic and prophylactic diet is recommended for gout sufferers throughout their life, and not just during periods of flare-up.

How to diet

Experts recommend taking dietary table No. 6 as a basis for gout. This therapeutic and preventive diet was developed by a well-known nutritionist for patients with diseases that are accompanied by the accumulation of uric acid in the body: gout, urolithiasis and uric acid diathesis. All of these disorders are metabolic pathologies and cause serious complications. A special diet helps to reduce the concentration of uric acid in the blood and normalize the metabolism in the body. Thanks to a special diet, it is possible to reduce the formation of uric acid and the accumulation of urate in the kidneys and joint spaces. The diet also prevents the buildup of purine bases, which leads to gout. If you stick to it, you can quickly improve your general condition, reduce pain and discomfort in the joints.

Features of dietary table number 6

The therapeutic diet is balanced in terms of the chemical composition and calorie content of the products, sufficient in terms of the content of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The energy intensity is 2700–3000 kcal. If you are overweight, it is recommended that you reduce your total calories by cutting down on carbohydrates.

• The amount of fat is 80-90 g per day. Preference should be given to fats of vegetable origin, the source of which is vegetable oils.
• The daily amount of protein is 70-80g, while at least half of the stated amount should come from plant-based protein foods.
• The amount of carbohydrates is 380-400 g per day with normal body weight. With excess weight and obesity, the amount of carbohydrates is reduced to 250-300 g per day.
• The amount of salt should not exceed 10 g per day.
• The daily volume of liquids consumed should not exceed 1. 5-2 liters (excluding first courses).

Diet for gout does not imply strict restrictions, therefore, as a rule, it is well tolerated. Food should be boiled, cooked, steamed. Try to avoid frying. It causes the formation of a large number of extractives and carcinogens, which affect the digestive, urinary and cardiovascular systems. You need to eat fractionally, every 2-3 hours, in moderate portions, without overeating.

Foods allowed for gout

The basis of the therapeutic diet for gout are alkaline foods: they normalize the metabolism of purine bases, and also reduce the amount of uric acid.

What can you eat with gout?

• Any type of vegetable, both fresh and thermally processed.
• Baked goods based on rye and wheat flour, as well as with the addition of wheat bran.
• First courses cooked in a broth of vegetables and weak fish, vegetarian okroshka, beetroot, lean pickle and meatless cabbage soup.
• Dairy and dairy products: low-fat kefir, curdled milk, whole milk, lean sour cream, natural yogurt, fermented cooked milk, and low-fat cottage cheese.
• Fresh and thermally processed fruit and berries.
• Green and black tea with lemon, honey and milk. Homemade fruit and berry kisses, fruit and vegetable juices, berry drinks. Herbal infusions (from chamomile flowers, rose hips), fruit compotes, chicory.
• Desserts and sweets: natural honey, marshmallows, natural jam, berry jam, jam, homemade marshmallows.
• Fats: refined sunflower oil, corn, olive, flax. Butter is also allowed.

The listed foods and foods are considered safe for gout. There are also a number of products that you cannot exclude from the menu, but limit their use.

• Quail and chicken eggs, cooked in the form of a steamed, hard-boiled or soft-boiled omelette (no more than 1 egg per day).
• From meat products it is allowed to eat veal, lean beef, rabbit, turkey and chicken. From fish - fish of dietary varieties. Meat and fish dishes should be eaten no more than three times a week, preferably boiled. Thanks to this method of heat treatment, meat and fish are purified from purine bases, extractives and uric acid fragments.
• It is advisable to limit the pasta to a minimum.

What not to eat with gout

Your diet should not contain foods that contain large amounts of purine bases and uric acid. Here are the foods that are not recommended for gout.

• Alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
• Chocolate, cocoa.
• First courses cooked in meat and strong fish broth.
• All kinds of nuts and legumes, grape juice.
• Hard and pickled cheeses.
• Sausage products, smoked products, sausages, canned fish and meat, offal, as well as high-fat meat and fish ingredients.
• All kinds of appetizers, pates, sauces, spices, spices, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, grated horseradish root.
• Puff pastry and pastry products, cakes, chocolate and caramel desserts.

Sample menu for the week

Here is a sample seven-day menu for gout sufferers. It can be adjusted according to your preferences.

Monday

• Breakfast:vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil (sunflower, corn or olive); 1 soft-boiled chicken egg; pumpkin or carrot juice.

• The lunch:baked pumpkin with honey; a glass of whole milk or natural yogurt.

• Dinner:boiled chicken breast with vegetable stew; a glass of orange or apple juice.

• Afternoon snack:vegetarian borsch with potatoes; boiled fish fillet; weak drink of green tea or rosehip.

• Dinner:vegetarian cabbage rolls; fruit and berry jelly; low-fat cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruit.

Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of milk or low-fat kefir.

Tuesday

• Breakfast:scrambled eggs with vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil (corn, olive or sunflower), a glass of fruit or vegetable juice.

• The lunch:puree of any fruit or vegetable; cottage cheese mass with the addition of dried fruit; a glass of herbal tea.

• Dinner:stewed zucchini with fresh herbs; mashed potatoes; vegetable salad, black or green tea.

• Afternoon snack: a serving of fresh berries or fruits; smoothie or a glass of whole milk.

• Dinner:cottage cheese with the addition of berry jam or dried fruit; compote of berries and fruits.

Wednesday

• Breakfast:boiled rice porridge with the addition of grated apple; weak black or green tea.

• The lunch:a portion of fruit salad topped with natural yogurt.

• Dinner:vegetarian cabbage soup; pumpkin cutlets; a glass of whole milk

• Afternoon snack:a glass of fermented baked milk or kefir; portion of berries.

• Dinner:pancakes with fruit filling; compote of fruit and berries.

Thursday

• Breakfast:casserole with cottage cheese and carrots; oat porridge; fruit compote.

• The lunch:homemade noodles boiled in milk.

• Dinner:steamed beef cutlets with stewed white cabbage; boiled buckwheat porridge, pumpkin juice.

• Afternoon snack:carrot juice.

• Dinner:salad of boiled beets and carrots, dressed with olive oil; fruit jelly.

Friday

• Breakfast:curd soufflé; fruit or vegetable juice.

• The lunch:natural yogurt with added wheat bran.

• Dinner:white cabbage salad and grated carrots; vegetarian soup; tomato juice.

• Afternoon snack:fruit jelly or a portion of fruit.

• Dinner:baked vegetables; oatmeal, weak green or black tea.

on Saturday

• Breakfast:steamed cheesecake; natural yogurt; fruit jelly.

• The lunch:corn or oatmeal with milk.

• Dinner:steamed diet fish with mashed potatoes; vegetarian soup with zucchini; weak black tea with lemon.

• Afternoon snack:berries or smoothie.

• Dinner:vegetable salad; corn grain porridge; pumpkin, apple or carrot juice.

Sunday

• Breakfast:vegetable salad; a slice of bread with bran; rosehip drink.

• The lunch:carrot and pumpkin salad, 1 soft-boiled chicken egg.

• Dinner:potato cutlets with the addition of grated zucchini; homemade noodles cooked in milk; fruit jelly.

• Afternoon snack:cottage cheese casserole with fruit.

• Dinner:cabbage rolls; a glass of whole milk or low-fat kefir.

Recipes

Vegetarian vegetable borsch

Ingrediants:2, 5 liters of water, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 red beet, 1 tomato, 1 celery root or stalk, 2 potatoes, 200 g of white cabbage, salt, pepper - to taste, herbs (dill, parsley), low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt - for serving.

Instruction.Put the diced or grated vegetables on a coarse grater in boiling water: onions, carrots, celery, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes (without peel). Cook until the vegetables are ready. Salt, season. Then put the finely chopped vegetables. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the borsch to ferment. Serve with sour cream or yogurt (optional). In the finished borscht, you can put a piece of lean boiled beef.

Omelette with poultry or meat

Ingrediants:turkey breast fillet (chicken, guinea fowl) boiled skinless or lean (beef, veal), 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. L. low-fat milk, salt to taste.

Instruction.Beat the eggs with the milk. Salt. Pieces of boiled or baked poultry (meat), pour over the scrambled mass. Cook on both sides in the microwave, slow cooker, or deep skillet.

Boiled cod

Ingrediants:500 g of cod fillet, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp. L. olive oil, parsley root (to taste), peppercorns (4-5 peas), herbs (dill, parsley) - 1 tbsp. L. , Salt to taste.

Instruction.Rinse the fillet in cold water with the addition of lemon, cut into portions. Place the pieces in the boiling broth with roots and spices so that the water covers the fish. Cook the cod under the lid for 12 minutes. Serve with vegetable stew.

Carrot, apple and pumpkin salad

Ingrediants:100 g of fresh pumpkin, 1 medium carrot, 1 green apple, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 2-3 slices of orange or tangerine.

Instruction.Rub the vegetables on a coarse grater, mix. Add the lemon juice and garnish the salad with slices of orange (tangerine).

Zander rolls with Chinese cabbage

Ingrediants:500 g of zander, 200 g of cottage cheese (5%), 4 egg whites, 1 Chinese green cabbage, salt and pepper to taste.

Instruction.Grind with a mixer or pass the zander fillet twice through a meat grinder. Then mix with the curd. Beat the egg whites and add them to the mass, mix, salt, pepper. Divide the minced meat into 4 parts and place each on a separate sheet of aluminum foil, greased with olive oil. Roll into a roll, fix the edges. Cook in a double boiler for 10-14 minutes. Wash the cabbage, disassemble it into leaves, add salt and pepper and cook in a bain-marie for 10 minutes. Put the cabbage leaves on a plate, on them the zander rolls removed from the foil.

Vegetable stew

Ingrediants:1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 200 g of white cabbage, 1 potato, 1 pepper, 100 g of small corn, 1 tbsp. L. vegetable oil, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt, pepper to taste.

Instruction.In a saucepan heated with oil, put the finely chopped onion, grated carrots, peeled and chopped tomato. Save lightly. Then add the cabbage and the potatoes cut into squares, as well as the corn. Stir, add a little water, cover and simmer until cooked. Five minutes before readiness, add pepper and finely chopped greens.

vegetable casserole

Ingrediants:1 onion, 1 carrot, 300 g of cauliflower, 1 potato, 1-2 eggs, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt and pepper to taste.

Instruction.In a deep pan, greased with olive oil, put a mixture of vegetables: finely chopped onions and carrots, cabbage and potatoes cut into squares. Mix, add finely chopped vegetables, pepper, salt, beaten eggs. Place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Zucchini rolls with ricotta

Ingrediants:2 medium zucchini, 1/2 red pepper (without seeds), 1 cucumber, 100 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 1 bunch of rocket, 1 tbsp. L. olive oil, 1 dl. finely chopped fresh herbs, salt to taste.

Instruction.Wash the courgettes, cut them into thin longitudinal strips, lightly fry them on both sides with olive oil for 2 minutes per side (they can be cooked in the oven). Mix the ricotta with the aromatic herbs, salt to taste. Pepper and cucumber cut into thin longitudinal strips. Place a little ricotta at the end of the zucchini strip. Add a few strips of red pepper, cucumber, rocket leaves, roll up and arrange on a plate in an upright position.

Curd Casserole With Apples

Ingrediants:400 g of fat-free cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. starch, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. L. sugar, 2 Antonovka apples.

Instruction.Beat the eggs with salt and sugar, add the ricotta and starch. Peel the apples, remove the core, cut them into cubes and add them to the mass. Mix everything. Microwave for 12 minutes or in the oven until cooked. Serve with yogurt, honey or jam.

Curd dessert berry

Ingrediants:400 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 100 g of fresh berries, 2 egg whites, 1 tbsp. L. sugar, 12 g of gelatin, 1/4 sachet of vanillin.

Instruction.Soak the gelatin in 5-7 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk the whites. Add the vanillin, the sugar to the ricotta, add the whipped proteins. Melt the gelatin over low heat until dissolved and add it to the curd mass, beat. Leave in the refrigerator for 5 hours and serve garnished with berries.