Gout is a rheumatic disease caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints. The clinical manifestations of the disease are pain, deformation of the affected joint, functional disorders, and the formation of characteristic nodules (tophi).
Without treatment, the disease progresses over time, and salt deposits in the form of microcrystals begin to accumulate in the internal organs. Most often, the kidneys are affected, which leads to the development of pyelonephritis, kidney failure and other complications. The diagnosis is made based on the symptoms and is confirmed by pricking the affected joint and taking an X-ray. Treatment includes medication, a special diet, and physical therapy.
Basic principles of diet
The approximate menu is compiled by the attending physician, individually for each patient, taking into account the form and severity of the disease, the presence of concurrent pathologies, the patient's age and body characteristics.
The goal of the diet is to minimize the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to an improvement in the patient's general well-being and quality of life. Food must not contain purines, which are converted into uric acid when they enter the body.
We recommend that you include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. The recipes are quite simple, the main thing is to prepare them correctly and not to use ingredients on the list of prohibited foods.
Therapeutic nutrition helps the patient to quickly improve the general well-being at home, relieve unpleasant symptoms, and even prolong the remission periods. Deviation from the diet, spicy and fatty foods, alcohol (especially wine and beer), coffee consumption quickly increase the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to another attack of the disease. Therefore, you must constantly follow the diet. Adequate nutrition helps to avoid the development of many serious complications during periods of remission and especially during exacerbations.
The patient must always have the table of permitted foods in front of his eyes, as well as the recipes for preparing various foods. This helps to create the optimal menu based on the individual dietary preferences of each patient and taking into account the characteristics of the body.
It is not only important to use the right products, but also to follow a certain diet. You should eat often, but in small portions (fractional meals). Fasting and overeating are unacceptable, as this can provoke an attack of the disease. If you are overweight, you need to get rid of it. But this should be done gradually, because sudden weight loss can have a negative effect on health, especially if the patient is no longer young.
We must not forget about the drinking system. You should drink at least one and a half liters of liquid per day (up to three liters during the exacerbation period). In addition to water, compotes, mineral water, weak tea, fruit drinks, rosehip decoction can be consumed. It is better not to drink during meals, but between meals.
Prohibited products
You must follow the diet throughout your life, not just during exacerbations. The diet should be as balanced as possible. Dairy products and vegetables are allowed. It is important to drink enough fluids, as this speeds up the removal of excess uric acid from the body.
With the help of the diet, you can not only alleviate the symptoms of the disease and reduce the frequency of exacerbations, but also normalize the weight, reducing the load on the affected joints. The main rule is to exclude foods rich in purines from the diet.
These include:
- cakes and pastries;
- conserve;
- legumes;
- baking;
- offal;
- processed meat products (sausage, frankfurters, etc. );
- fatty fish;
- chocolate;
- spicy, salty, smoked, pickled foods;
- fast food;
- mushrooms;
- any alcohol, but especially wine and beer;
- cocoa, strong black tea, coffee.
If metabolic disorders occur on the background of diabetes or arteriosclerosis, the total calorie content of food, the amount of fatty foods, cholesterol and sugar levels must be carefully monitored.
Authorized products
The gout diet is based on the principles of healthy eating, so it is not too difficult to follow. The point is to get used to the changes in your diet. Then everything will be easier. Forbidden foods must be completely excluded.
The permitted products are:
- dietary meats (rabbit, chicken, turkey);
- eggs (in small quantities);
- fermented milk products;
- vegetable oils (linseed and olive oil are the best choices);
- Seafood;
- pasta, cereals;
- low-fat fish varieties;
- fresh fruits and vegetables that are not on the list of prohibited foods;
- jam, lozenges, marshmallows;
- candies without chocolate;
- dried fruits (except raisins);
- Honey.
You must clearly understand that you must eat according to the above recommendations for the rest of your life. Violation of the diet and the consumption of forbidden foods quickly provoke the aggravation of the disease.
Diet for gout: Table No. 6
Unfortunately, a complete cure of the disease is impossible, especially if its course is complicated by diabetes or obesity. However, by following diet number 6, you can quickly relieve exacerbations and reduce the frequency of relapses of the disease.
The nutritional characteristics of this diet are:
- Foods rich in purines and oxalic acid should be completely excluded from the menu;
- salt consumption should be limited; in particularly severe cases, this product is completely excluded from the diet;
- there must be milk, vegetables and other alkalizing foods on the table;
- if there are no contraindications (kidney disease, heart disease, and many others), you should significantly increase the amount of fluid you drink, which helps to quickly remove uric acid salts from the body;
- reduce the amount of refractory fats and animal proteins to a minimum;
- if the patient is obese, he should reduce the amount of carbohydrates in his diet.
The classic standard menu is signed by the attending physician. There may be several dining options. The food should be prepared in the usual way, the food should be at normal temperature. It is recommended to cook fish and meat. Meat and mushroom soups should be drained, as they contain large amounts of purines.
Following such a diet, nutrition is normalized, purine metabolism in the body gradually stabilizes, and the amount of uric acid salts decreases. In addition, the patient gets rid of obesity over time, which also has a positive effect on health and improves the quality of life. Joint pain disappears, inflammation decreases, which reduces the likelihood of a relapse of the disease in the future.
Important!There is no need to self-medicate. The formulation of the diet must be carried out by a specialist. Despite the effectiveness of diet number 6, it may not be suitable for all patients. Much depends on the age of the patient, the course of the disease and the presence of concomitant pathologies. For example, if a person is obese in addition to gout, they may be prescribed diet number 8, which imposes more severe restrictions.
Diet for gout in men and women during exacerbation
In case of exacerbation of this pathology, diet number 6 should be followed for at least two weeks. Preference should be given to liquid foods. The consumption of fatty meat, fish and poultry should be limited if possible.
The menu is based on liquid porridge, vegetable soups, and fermented milk products. Meals are fractional. Long breaks between meals, overeating or fasting increase the likelihood of an attack of the disease. You can drink compote, jelly, mineral water, fruit juices, weak tea.
The drinking system
How much and what kind of water should we drink if we have gout? The total amount of fluid should be at least 2 liters per day.
If the patient has a complication in the form of urolithiasis, it is recommended to drink alkalizing mineral waters or water with the addition of potassium bicarbonate. You can increase the alkaline balance with the help of citrus fruits, as well as by introducing a large amount of plant proteins into the diet, excluding animal proteins.
Alcohol consumption is often one of the main causes of the disease. Therefore, you should completely avoid alcoholic beverages. Even dry red wine is prohibited in the case of gout, which may be drunk in small doses in the case of other diseases. Sometimes it is enough to drink only a few sips of alcohol for another attack of the disease to appear. Cocoa, coffee and strong black tea are also completely prohibited.
In addition to cleansing the body of toxins, drinking plenty of fluids improves kidney function and stimulates the dissolution and excretion of uric acid crystals. This makes it possible not only to improve the health and well-being of the patient, but also to reduce the dose of certain drugs.
Sample menu for the week
Monday
- For breakfast, you can cook an omelet, fried or steamed, eat 150 grams of vegetable salad and a few slices of bread.
- For lunch, you can cook vegetable soup, eat low-fat boiled or steamed fish.
- For dinner, make a vegetable stew made of eggplant and zucchini, and you can also eat a piece of bread.
Tuesday
- For breakfast, prepare oatmeal with dried or fresh fruit.
- For lunch, pilaf with lean chicken fillet without frying.
- For dinner, we make vegetable stew with potatoes and low-fat cheese, which we bake in the oven. You can also eat a piece of bread.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg white omelet, zrazy with carrots and fruits, weak tea with milk.
- Lunch: thin rice soup, cauliflower steamed in milk, dried fruit compote.
- Dinner: pasta with sugar and cottage cheese, gazpacho, kefir.
Thursday
- For breakfast, they prepare cottage cheese salad with cucumber, green onion and unsalted cheese, spread with nut butter. You can eat a piece of bread. Wash everything down with rosehip decoction.
- For lunch, you can cook pureed fish soup, make a salad with beetroot and sour cream, eat 2 potatoes and drink compote.
- They eat rice porridge with milk for dinner. As a drink with chicory milk.
Friday
- Breakfast: cheese cake cooked in the oven or cottage cheese with sour cream and fruit.
- Lunch: vegetable sauce, durum wheat pasta, with seafood.
- Dinner: buckwheat porridge with lean fish, baked in the oven.
Saturday
- For breakfast, they cook wheat porridge in water and eat dried fruits.
- They make vegetable soup for lunch. You can eat a piece of bread and some pumpkin seeds.
- For dinner, stewed vegetables, boiled eggs, seafood.
Sunday
- Breakfast: natural yogurt, cheese sandwiches, weakly brewed tea.
- Lunch: soup with vegetables and barley, potato wedges with sour cream.
- Dinner: a piece of lean boiled pork, salad with fresh vegetables, buckwheat porridge.