Arthritis Today magazine reports that approximately 6 million people in the United States suffer from gout, a form of arthritis that occurs when urate crystals deposit in joints, causing pain and inflammation. When your body breaks down purines, substances found in the body and in certain foods, uric acid is one of the byproducts. When too much uric acid is in the blood stream, urate crystals may form. Excessive blood uric acid levels may arise from ingesting too many purines. One way to help prevent gout is to avoid foods with high purine contents.
High-Purine Foods
Avoid foods that are high in purines if you have gout. Organ meats, such as liver, kidney, heart, brains and sweetbreads, are the worst offenders when it comes to purine content. Game meats, goose and partridge are also purine-rich. Seafood high in purine content includes anchovies, sardines, mackerel, herring, scallops and mussels. Meat gravies, meat extracts, mincemeat, yeasts and yeast extracts also have high purine contents. Alcohol, especially beer, can also raise uric acid levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Moderate-Purine Foods
Eat foods with moderate levels of purines only occasionally if you have gout. Moderate-purine foods include unrefined breads and cereals, such as oatmeal, wheat bran, wheat germ and bran. Some vegetables have moderate purine contents, including asparagus, cauliflower, green peas, fresh beans, mushrooms and spinach. High-protein foods, such as beef, lamb, pork and seafood that's not included on the high-purine food list, plus dried peas, beans and lentils have moderate amounts of purines. Meat soups and broths also fall into this category.
Low-Purine Foods
Consume low-purine foods as desired without concern for gout. Among the foods that are low in purines are refined grain products, vegetables not listed as moderate-purine foods, all fruits and fruit juices, dairy products, fats and oils, eggs, peanut butter, nuts, candy, chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drinks and condiments.
Other Preventative Measures
Avoiding purine-rich foods is not the only way to prevent gout. Staying well-hydrated helps your body flush excess uric acid from your system, and losing weight can lower uric acid levels. A 2009 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, which tracked 47,000 men -- 1,317 of whom eventually developed gout -- showed that for every additional 500 mg of vitamin C that the study participants consumed daily, there was a corresponding 17 percent decrease in gout risk; participants who consumed more than 1,500 mg of vitamin C daily had a 45 percent decrease in gout risk.
