Gout Low Purine Diet

Gout Low Purine Diet

Gout Low Purine Diet

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What are the advantages of a low-purine diet?

  • Reducing uric acid. People who are disposed to hyperuricemia may be able to manage their condition with diet to prevent complications such as gout and kidney stones from developing. People who have already been diagnosed with gout or kidney stones may be able to prevent new uric acid crystals from forming in their joints or kidneys or at least slow the process down.
  • Reducing weight. Avoiding high-purine foods such as red meats and sweets may help you reduce weight as a secondary benefit. Gout is highly associated with excess weight gain and related metabolic syndromes such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Weight loss statistically lowers your risk of developing gout, and it helps relieve symptoms of gout by taking stress off your joints.
  • Reducing medication. Diet is not as effective as medication for managing gout, and it’s not supposed to replace it. But paying attention to your diet may help minimize your need for medications.

What are the disadvantages of a low-purine diet?

  • It’s limiting. For people with hyperuricemia, a low-purine diet is a long-term lifestyle change. It also happens to target many favorite indulgences, including sugar, sweets and alcohol. For some people, giving these up indefinitely may seem unrealistic, especially when it’s only a complementary therapy. Like most diets, you do have to stick to it to reap the benefits.
  • It limits omega-3 sources. Seafood is among the most important dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, and the low-purine diet limits many of these. Omega-3s have many known health benefits — in particular, alleviating inflammation and joint pain from arthritis. Many Americans don’t get enough omega-3s, and limiting seafood can make it even harder. However, fish-oil supplements are ok on this diet.
  • It’s not a cure. Diet may move the needle a little on uric acid levels in your blood, but not as much as medications do. The best approach is to combine them. Some people argue that the benefits of the diet aren’t proven to be worth the trouble when compared with medication. But medication alone is often not enough to manage gout effectively. In these cases, many people appreciate having something they can do proactively to reduce their symptoms.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

A low-purine diet is designed to help manage hyperuricemia and its complications, such as gout. But the diet is also a reasonable lifestyle to adopt for general health. It reduces sugar, alcohol and meat and emphasizes plants and alternative sources of protein. This has plenty of benefits outside of reducing uric acid, and it won’t deprive you of any important nutrition. If you’re at risk of developing gout, or of living through another gout attack, a low-purine diet may be worth a try. Ask your healthcare provider if it’s a good option for you.

This post was last modified on December 10, 2024 3:36 pm