Gout is a type of arthritis that attacks your joints and can make everyday movements painful. According to MayoClinic.com, gout flares when your blood contains too much uric acid, which forms crystals around your joints. Since your body creates the acid to help digest certain types of food, avoiding these foods can help minimize painful attacks.
The DASH Diet
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet was originally developed as a low-sodium diet to help people with hypertension reduce blood pressure. In addition to lower sodium intake, the diet also emphasizes low amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. Because the types of foods that cause your body to produce extra uric acid are largely absent from the DASH diet, it may help you control your gout outbreaks.
Foods for Gout Sufferers to Avoid
MayoClinic.com says foods such as organ meats, red meat, complex carbohydrates and sweets may cause your body to produce more uric acid. They suggest you avoid meats such as liver, beef, pork, anchovies, lobster, shrimp and tuna and limit your overall animal protein consumption to no more than 6 oz. per day. Other foods to avoid include beer, refined grains like those found in white bread and cake, and sweets.
DASH Diet Goals
The DASH diet requires you to arrange your intake of nutrients carefully. Plan to limit your total fat intake to 27 percent of your daily caloric intake, with only 6 percent coming from saturated fat. Eighteen percent of those calories should come from protein and 55 percent from carbohydrates. Limit your daily cholesterol intake to 150 mg, with sodium limited to either 2,300 mg or 1,500 mg, depending on your risk for hypertension. Aim to ingest 4,700 mg of potassium per day, 1,250 mg of calcium, 500 mg of magnesium and 30 g of dietary fiber.
Individual Food Group Servings
To help you meet these required percentages of nutrients, the DASH diet makes daily serving suggestions for each food group. For the average 2,000-calorie diet, you need between six and eight servings of grains, four to five servings each of veggies and fruit, two to three servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy products, six or fewer servings of lean meats and two to three servings of fats and oils. In terms of weekly consumption, you need four to five servings of nuts, seeds or legumes and no more than five weekly servings of sweets or sugary foods such as jam or gelatin.
Suggested Foods
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers easy suggestions for DASH-approved meals. They suggest breakfasting on fortified cereal or instant oatmeal with healthy additions like fruit, whole wheat toast or orange juice. For lunch, try chicken breast on whole wheat bread, salad with low-calorie dressing or barbecued beef made with eye of round. Dinners might include spaghetti with vegetarian sauce, Spanish rice made with low-sodium tomato sauce, sautéed veggies, turkey meatloaf or baked potatoes with fat-free sour cream.
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