Radishes are root vegetables that look like beets or turnips, but fall in the mustard family. For thousands of years, radishes have been a medicinal food used to boost the health of the liver and improve digestion, according to Dr. Michael Murray, a leading naturopath. However, radishes do not specifically help treat gout, but they can make a healthy addition to your diet.
Gout
Gout is a type of arthritis that causes pain, tenderness and redness in your joints. It most often affects the big toe. People with gout have high blood levels of uric acid, which is a metabolite of purines, a substance naturally found in your body and in some foods. The uric acid in the blood crystallizes and settles in the joints, causing gout symptoms. Medication is often used to treat gout. However, you can also limit the amount of purines in your diet.
Purines Foods
Purines make up part of the chemical structure of genes found in animals, including humans, and plants. Some foods contain a significantly higher amount of purines than others. When suffering from gout, eliminate all foods high in purines, and restrict your overall intake to 100 to 150 mg a day, according to "Krause's Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy." High purine foods to avoid include organ meats, herring, sardines, scallops, mussels, mackerel and gravy. Other meats, such as fish, poultry and red meat, also contain purines, so limit your intake of these foods to 4 to 6 ounces a day. Certain vegetables also contain higher amounts of purines, including spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, peas, beans and lentils, and you should eat no more than 1/2 cup of these a day.
Gout Diet
While the list of foods you need to limit may be overwhelming, the gout diet is actually a healthy diet that encourages you to eat more plant-based foods, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables low in purines. Low-fat and nonfat dairy products are also recommended, and may help reduce your risk of gout, according to the Mayo Clinic. Balancing your calorie intake to maintain a healthy weight can also reduce gout symptoms.
Radishes and Gout
Radishes are not a high purine vegetable, and make a good choice for someone with gout. In addition, radishes are low in calories and a good source of fiber. One cup of sliced radishes contains just 19 calories and 2 grams of fiber. Radishes are a low-energy-dense food, which means they are low in calories compared to their serving size. Including more low-energy-dense foods in your diet can help control appetite, making it easier for you to balance your intake for weight control.
References
- Iowa Department of Public Health; October Featured Vegetable - Radish; 2002
- Sharecare; What are the Health Benefits of Eating Radishes; Dr. Michael T. Murray
- MayoClinic.com; Gout; November 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Gout Diet; March 2010
- USDA: Nutrient Database: Radishes, Raw
- "Krause's Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy"; L. Kathleen Mahan and S. Escott-Stump; 1996
