Black Tea & Gout

Gout can trigger sudden, sometimes fierce pain in joints in the body. The pain occurs when little crystals develop inside the joints because of high levels of uric acid. Gout appears to be partly worsened by the foods and beverages you consume. Black tea may raise your uric acid levels slightly, but in general black tea isn't considered to be a high-risk drink for people with gout.

Gout

Gout is related to the joint condition arthritis. Like severe arthritis, it can make your joints become inflamed, painful, swollen and raw to touch. Though you can theoretically get gout symptoms in any joint, the most commonly affected areas include the big toe, other toes and finger joints. Mineral-rich uric acid leads to crystal development in a similar way to kidney stone formation. Men who drink alcohol are at particular risk of developing gout.

Purine and Black Tea

Substances known as purines that occur naturally in some foods appear to raise body uric acid levels. You'll struggle to eat a totally purine-free diet. However, some foods contain lots more purine than others. Black tea has low purine levels. However, black tea does contain oxalate, a substance linked with kidney stones and possibly gout symptoms. Despite the presence of oxalate, a 2007 study published in "Nutrition Research" showed that it's not properly absorbed by the body when consumed via black tea.

Studies

In a 2007 study published in "Arthritis and Rheumatism," researchers tracked 45,869 men with no gout over a period of 12 years. They monitored the intake of coffee and tea, as well as total caffeine intake. From a total of 757 confirmed cases of gout in that time, scientists established no link between drinking tea and an increased chance of gout. They also suggested that drinking coffee appears to lower the risk of gout.

Considerations

In extremely high doses it's possible that the oxalate in tea could trigger gout. Similarly, the mild diuretic effect of the caffeine in the tea could lead to slight dehydration if you stick to tea and rarely drink water. It's safest to avoid drinking large amounts of tea if you have gout. If you find that tea makes symptoms appear, cut it out of your diet entirely.