Gout Information

A high-purine diet

Gout arises from the normal breakdown of our own DNA into nucleic acids, then into purines, then into uric acid. This process accounts for some of the uric acid in our bodies, but a proportion of our purines comes from our diets as well - and again these purines are broken down into uric acid. Unfortunately, a diet that is high in purines burdens the kidneys with a large load for excretion. The same is the case in individuals who eat a large amount of food containing only a moderate amount of purines. The kidneys may not always be able to cope, hence the raised levels of uric acid.

Purines come from the nuclei of cells, not only of animals but also of plants. The foods that contain purines are: all meats, poultry and seafood, asparagus, mushrooms, dried peas and beans, lentils, soya, spinach and yeast. With meat, a good rule of thumb is that eating any part that has worked hard during its life is more likely to lead to raised levels of uric acid - liver and kidneys, for example. Chicken breast meat is also lower in purines than the legs on which the bird ran about.