Purines, important components of DNA and RNA, are essential to life and found in animal and plant cells. Because they are metabolized into uric acid in the body, eating foods high in purines may cause an elevation in blood serum uric acid, eventually causing health problems such as gout. Foods vary widely in their purine content, with meat products and seafood containing high levels and fruits, low levels of purines.
Foods High in Purines
A 12-year study of 50,000 men by Hyon K. Choi and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 2004 found that men with high consumption of seafood were 51 percent more likely to develop gout than those who ate little seafood. Foods highest in purines in descending order are yeast used for brewing, calf's sweetbreads, smoked sprat, yeast for baking, beef liver, pig's heart and liver, mushrooms, fish and sardines in oil and calf's liver. Additional foods that contain the highest amounts of purines, or 150 to 1,000 mg of purines per 100 g, include game meat such as pheasant, grouse, venison, rabbit and quail, foie gras, meat extracts, fish roe, trout, herrings, mackerel, scallops, crayfish, lobster, anchovies and fresh sardines.
Foods Moderately High in Purines
All animal protein contains purines, and MayoClinic.com suggests gout patients eat more plant-based proteins such as beans and legumes while limiting daily intake of meat and seafood protein. Blackeye peas, small white beans, split peas, lentils, red beans and pinto beans are actually high in purine content. However, Hyon K. Choi's 12-year study completed in 2004 indicated that moderate ingestion of beans high in purines did not increase the risk of gout. Moderate amounts of purines, from 50 to 150 mg per 100 g, are found in lima beans, garbanzo beans, whole grains, poultry, roasted lamb and pork chops, fresh white fish, clams, squid, canned tuna, canned salmon and canned clams. These foods are also not associated with heightening the risk of gout.
Foods Low in Purines
A healthy gout diet, consisting chiefly of low-purine foods, may help lessen the severity of gout attacks but cannot treat gout. Nathan Wei, M.D., suggests a low-purine diet consisting of low-fat dairy products, complex carbohydrates, celery, tomatoes, cabbage, kale, parsley and dark green leafy vegetables. Further suggestions to help manage gout with low-purine foods include drinking fruit juices and eating fresh blueberries, strawberries, cherries and other berries that are blue or red in color in addition to pineapple, which is rich in bromelain, a mixture of enzymes that digest protein. Other good low-purine food choices are vitamin C-rich red bell peppers, mandarins, oranges, potatoes, red cabbage and tangerines. Additional low-purine foods containing less than 50 mg of purines per 100 g are nuts, except cashews and peanuts, olives, jam, marmalade, yogurt, ice cream, cheese and eggs.
