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Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food. ...Hippocrates |
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Gout Causes: Diet/Food with high or low uric acid content
Uric acid, a product of purine metabolism, is a natural antioxidant. Uric acid accumulates in tissues and the blood. Uric acid accumulates to a high level when one consumes food high in purines; and when the uricase level is low in the body. Foods high in purines include meat and meat products and some vegeterian food stuffs, even though to varying levels. Other factors associated with high blood uric acid levels include starvation and consumption of foods high in fructose, fat and protein.
Uric acid eventually crystallizes, especially at low temprature. Uric acid crytal makes it way to the joints, such as the big toe, ankle, and knees. Therefore, when the uric acid level is high level in the blood, tissues, and joints, it causes gout. Other diseases associated with high blood uric acid include kidney stones, diabetic acidosis, acute alcoholism and leukemia.
In the following table is a list of food stuffs and estimates of their uric acid content. Foods high in uric acid content are listed at the top of the table while foods with low uric acid content are at the bottom. Fruits and vegetables have generally reduced level of uric acid. Meat products, especially internal organs seem to have elevated levels of uric acid.
| Food source of uric acid |
uric acid level (mg of uric acid /100 g food) |
| Yeast, brewer's | 1810 |
| Sheep's spleen | 773 |
| Tuna fish | 257 |
| Anchovy | 239 |
| Mungo bean seed | 222 |
| Soybean seed | 190 |
| Chicken (breast with skin) | 175 |
| Salmon | 170 |
| Pork, fillet | 150 |
| Ham, cooked | 131 |
| Beef | 110 |
| Broccoli | 81 |
| Tofu | 68 |
| Banana | 57 |
| Sweet corn | 52 |
| Grape | 27 |
| Plum | 24 |
| Asparagus | 23 |
| blueberry | 22 |
| White cabbage | 22 |
| Strawberry | 21 |
| Carrot | 17 |
| Apple | 14 |
| Cucumber | 7.3 |
More on gout and diet:
Gout causes, diagnosis, symptoms, and cure
Food high/low in uric acid
Gout Causes: Food High in Purines and Uric Acid, and Alcohol
Gout and diet: Serum uric acid level and coffee and tea intake
Low purine diet cookbooks and gout related books
Blood uric acid, cardiovacular disease and diabetes:
Uric acid, cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus
uric acid, background
Serum uric acid, hypertension and metabolic syndrome
Serum uric acid, obesity and hyperglycemia
Serum uric acid and antioxidant or pro-oxidant activity
Serum uric acid, inflammation and renal disease
Hyperuricemia and nutritional approach
Links of interest:
Arginine and nitric oxide improve penile erection
References:
Clifford, Andrew J. and Story, David L. 1976. Levels of Purines in Foods and Their Metabolic Effects in Rats. J. Nutr. 106: 435-442.