A well-designed diet will allow you to forget the excruciating joint pain and live a full life. We are talking about the diet for gout: what is useful and what is not.
Gout is a systemic chronic metabolic disease that causes inflammation, swelling and pain in the joints. The disease is associated with the accumulation and retention in the body of uric acid - uric salts. Gout has been known since antiquity, its main symptoms were described by doctors of antiquity. Many celebrities suffered from gout, for example, Alexander the Great, emperors and empresses, the English King Henry VIII, the German scientist Gottfried Leibniz, the philosophers Voltaire Kant and Schopenhauer.
Gout is still a very common disease. Most often, this disease affects men. The age at which the first episode usually occurs is 35-45 years for men and 45-50 years for women.
symptoms of gout
A characteristic sign of gout is the formation of so-called nodules (deposition of uric acid salts in the form of nodulesand lumps in the connective tissue). People with gout complain of acute joint pain - most often the big toe is affected. From the ancient Greek language, the name of the disease translates as "foot in a trap", since most of the time patients are worried about acute pain in the joints of the feet. The intensity of the pain increases rapidly and reaches its maximum after about 24-48 hours. The joint area is red and swollen. Body temperature may rise, chills may occur. Gout attacks are also unpleasant because they restrict the patient's movement. If you do not seek proper treatment, the acute period lasts about a week, then the symptoms gradually subside. Gout can progress: pain attacks become more frequent, new joints, for example, elbows, hands, become involved in the pathological process. Due to the development and enlargement of the nodes, the joints are deformed, their mobility and functionality are affected. And this leads to movement problems: the patient becomes less mobile. In later stages, gout can lead to the development of urolithiasis.
Depending on the nature of the course, the disease can be acute (acute gout) or chronic (recurrent arthritis). There are also atypical forms of gout, for example, pseudoinflammatory, weak, rheumatic, etc. They are much less common.
Reasons for the development of the disease
As we have already said, gout develops when too much uric acid is formed in the body, which is not immediately eliminated from the body. A large number of factors can contribute to this. Here are the main causes of high uric acid levels and the development of gout.
- hereditary predisposition. Most often, it manifests itself in the form of various genetic disorders, in which the amount of one or another enzyme is reduced in the body.
- Increased intake of purine bases in the body. These substances are contained in the DNA and RNA of living organisms and are involved in the transmission of hereditary information. Purine bases enter the body through food, drink and also during the breakdown of the body's own cells. In the Middle Ages, gout was called the "disease of kings. "This is explained by the love of the nobles for plenty of food. The body of those who abused meat and alcohol (and especially purines) could not cope with the huge concentration of uric acid. Ordinary people ate poorly, mostly plant foods, and therefore rarely suffered from gout.
- Problems with urinary uric acid excretion. It usually occurs in chronic kidney disease. It is generally accepted that gout in such cases is secondary, ie it is a consequence of another disease. If it is eliminated, gout will also disappear.
Treatment and prevention of gout
Succeeding at treating gout is a holistic approach. If possible, experts try to determine the root cause of the disease and eliminate it. However, this is not always possible, so one should limit oneself to symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating the manifestations of the disease and improving the quality of life of a person with gout.
The main directions in the treatment of gout
- Medical carewith anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory drugs. Anti-inflammatory drugs are mainly taken during an outbreak to relieve pain and swelling. Antigout - for a long time, sometimes for life. This is a group of drugs that directly affect the metabolism of purine and uric acid bases in the body.
- topical treatment.It is prescribed both during the period of recession and during the period of exacerbation. It consists in the use of compresses with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as physiotherapy procedures. During the period of recession, applications with paraffin, therapeutic mud are useful - it helps to eliminate urination and improves joint mobility.
- Surgery.Match with a strong growth of nodes and cones. They are removed to avoid severe deformation of the joints and to limit their mobility.
- Dieting.Diet plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of gout. The main purpose of such a diet is to reduce the body's content of uric acid compounds. If the therapeutic and prophylactic diet is followed, the purine bases practically do not enter the body from outside and the uric acid level decreases. By limiting the consumption or complete elimination of certain foods from the diet, we prevent the development of the disease and postpone the next attack. It is recommended to follow a therapeutic and prophylactic diet for gout patients throughout their life and not only during periods of exacerbation.
How to diet
Experts recommend taking diet chart No. 6 as a basis for gout. This therapeutic and preventive diet was developed by a well-known nutritionist for patients with diseases that are accompanied by an accumulation of uric acid in the body: gout, urolithiasis and uric acid mood. All these diseases are metabolic pathologies and cause serious complications. A special diet helps to reduce the concentration of uric acid in the bloodstream and to normalize metabolism in the body. Thanks to a special diet, it is possible to reduce the formation of uric acid and the accumulation of uric acid in the kidneys and joint areas. The diet also prevents the accumulation of purine bases, which leads to gout. If you follow it, you can quickly improve your general condition, reduce pain and discomfort in the joints.
Features of the diet table with number 6
The therapeutic diet is balanced in terms of chemical composition and calorie content of products, adequate in terms of content of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The energy intensity is 2700–3000 kcal. If you are overweight, it is recommended that you reduce your total calories by reducing your carbs.
- The amount of fat is 80-90 g per day. Vegetable fats, the source of which is vegetable oils, should be preferred.
- The daily amount of protein is 70-80 g, while at least half of the indicated amount should come from plant protein foods.
- The amount of carbohydrates is 380-400 g per day with normal body weight. With overweight and obesity, the amount of carbohydrates is reduced to 250-300 g per day.
- The amount of salt should not exceed 10 g per day.
- The daily volume of fluid consumed should not exceed 1. 5-2 liters (excluding first meals).
The diet for gout does not impose strict restrictions, therefore, as a rule, it is well tolerated. The food must be boiled, cooked, steamed. Try to avoid frying. It causes the formation of a large number of extractive and carcinogenic substances, which affect the digestive, urinary and cardiovascular systems. You should eat in fractions, every 2-3 hours, in moderate portions, without overeating.
Allowed foods for gout
The basis of the therapeutic diet for gout is alkaline foods: they normalize the metabolism of purine bases and also reduce the amount of uric acid.
What can you eat with gout?
- All kinds of vegetables - both fresh and cooked.
- Bakery products from rye and wheat flour, as well as with the addition of wheat bran.
- Raw dishes cooked in weak vegetable and fish broth, vegetarian okroshka, beetroot, lean pickle, as well as cabbage soup without meat.
- Dairy and sour milk: low-fat kefir, curd, whole milk, low-fat sour cream, natural yogurt, fermented milk and low-fat cottage cheese.
- Fresh and heat-treated fruits and berries.
- Green and black tea with lemon, honey and milk. Homemade fruit and berry kisses, vegetable and fruit juices, berry fruit drinks. Herbal decoctions (from chamomile flowers, roses), fruit compotes, chicory.
- Desserts and sweets: natural honey, marshmallow, natural jam, berry jam, jam, homemade marshmallows.
- Fats: refined sunflower, corn, olive, linseed oil. Butter is also allowed.
These foods are considered safe for gout. There are also a number of products that you can not exclude from the menu, but restrict their use.
- Quail and chicken eggs, cooked in the form of steamed omelette, boiled or soft (not more than 1 egg per day).
- From meat products it is allowed to consume beef, lean beef, rabbit, turkey and chicken. From fish - fish of dietary varieties. Meat and fish dishes should not be eaten more than three times a week, preferably boiled. Thanks to this method of heat treatment, meat and fish are cleaned of purine bases, extracts and fragments of uric acid.
- Pasta is recommended to be kept to a minimum.
What not to eat with gout
Your diet should not contain foods that contain large amounts of purine and uric acid bases. Here are some foods that are not recommended for gout.
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
- Chocolate, cocoa.
- First dishes cooked in meat and strong fish broth.
- All kinds of nuts and legumes, grape juice.
- Hard cheeses and pickles.
- Sausages, smoked products, sausages, canned fish and meat, carcasses, as well as meat and fish ingredients high in fat.
- All kinds of appetizers, pate, sauces, spices, seasonings, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, grated horseradish root.
- Products from puff pastry, cakes, chocolate and caramel sweets.
Sample menu for the week
Here's a sample seven day menu for those with gout. It can be customized according to your preferences.
Monday
BREAKFAST:vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil (sunflower, corn or olive). 1 soft chicken egg; pumpkin or carrot juice.
Lunch:pumpkin cooked with honey; a glass of whole milk or natural yogurt.
Dinner:boiled chicken breast with vegetable stew. a glass of orange or apple juice.
Afternoon snack:vegetarian borscht with potatoes. boiled fish fillet; weak green tea or rosehip drink.
Dinner:vegetarian cabbage rolls; fruit and berry jelly; low fat cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruit.
Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of low-fat milk or kefir.
Tuesday
BREAKFAST:scrambled eggs with vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil (corn, olive or sunflower), a glass of fruit or vegetable juice.
Lunch:puree of any fruit or vegetable. mass of cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruit. a glass of herbal tea.
Dinner:cooked zucchini with fresh herbs. mashed potatoes; vegetable salad, black or green tea.
Afternoon snack:a portion of fresh berries or fruits. milkshake or a glass of whole milk.
Dinner:cottage cheese with the addition of berry jam or dried fruit. berry and fruit compote.
Wednesday
BREAKFAST:Boiled rice porridge with the addition of grated apple. weak black or green tea.
Lunch:a portion of fruit salad seasoned with natural yogurt.
Dinner:vegetarian cabbage soup; squash cutlets; a glass of whole milk
Afternoon snack:a glass of fermented boiled milk or kefir. portion of berries.
Dinner:pancakes with fruit filling. fruit and berry compote.
Thursday
BREAKFAST:cottage cheese casserole and carrot; oatmeal; fruit compote.
Lunch:homemade noodles boiled in milk.
Dinner:Steamed beef cutlets with boiled white cabbage. Boiled buckwheat porridge, pumpkin juice.
Afternoon snack:carrot juice.
Dinner:salad of boiled beets and carrots, seasoned with olive oil. fruit jelly.
Friday
BREAKFAST:Cheese souffle; fruit or vegetable juice.
Lunch:natural yogurt with the addition of wheat bran.
Dinner:white cabbage salad and grated carrot. vegetarian soup; Tomato juice.
Afternoon snack:fruit jelly or a portion of fruit.
Dinner:cooked vegetables; oatmeal, weak green or black tea.
Saturday
BREAKFAST:steam cheese pies; natural yogurt; fruit jelly.
Lunch:corn or oatmeal with milk.
Dinner:Dietary steamed fish with mashed potatoes. vegetarian soup with zucchini; weak black tea with lemon.
Afternoon snack:berry or milkshake.
Dinner:vegetable salad; corn kernel porridge; pumpkin, apple or carrot juice.
Sunday
BREAKFAST:vegetable salad; a slice of bread with bran; rose drink.
Lunch:carrot-pumpkin salad, 1 soft chicken egg.
Dinner:Potato cutlets with the addition of grated zucchini. Homemade noodles cooked in milk. fruit jelly.
Afternoon snack:cottage cheese casserole with fruit.
Dinner:vegetables cabbage rolls; a glass of whole milk or low-fat kefir.
Recipes
Vegetarian vegetable borscht
Components:2, 5 liters of water, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 beetroot, 1 tomato, 1 celery root or stalk, 2 potatoes, 200 grams white cabbage, salt, pepper - optional, herbs (dill, parsley), low-fat tartcream or natural yogurt - for serving.
Mandate.Put the vegetables cut into small cubes or grated on a coarse grater in boiling water: onions, carrots, celery, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes (without skin). Cook until the vegetables are ready. Salt, season. Then we put chopped greens. Remove the pan from the heat and let the borscht boil. Serve with sour cream or yogurt (optional). In the prepared borscht, you can put a piece of lean boiled beef.
Omelet with poultry or meat
Components:turkey breast fillet (chicken, guinea fowl) meat without skin or lean boiled (beef, veal), 2 eggs, 2 tbsp large. low-fat milk, salt to taste.
Mandate.Beat the eggs with the milk. Salt. Pieces of boiled or cooked poultry (meat), pour over the mixed mass. Bake on both sides in the microwave, in a slow cooker or in a deep pan.
Boiled cod
Components:500 gr cod fillet, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp. large. olive oil, parsley root (preferably), peppercorns (4-5 peas), herbs (dill, parsley) - 1 tbsp. , salt to taste.
Mandate.Rinse the fillet in cold water with the addition of lemon, cut into portions. Put the pieces in the boiling broth with roots and herbs so that the water covers the fish. Simmer the cod under the lid for 12 minutes. Serve with vegetable stew.
Salad with carrot, apple and pumpkin
Components:100 g fresh pumpkin, 1 medium carrot, 1 green apple, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 2-3 slices of orange or tangerine.
Mandate.Grate the vegetables on a coarse grater, stir. Add lemon juice and garnish the salad with orange slices (mandarin).
Perch rolls with Chinese cabbage
Components:500 g perch, 200 g cottage cheese (5%), 4 egg whites, 1 green Chinese cabbage, salt and pepper to taste.
Mandate.Rub with a mixer or pass the perch fillet through the grinder twice. Then mix with curd. Beat the egg whites and add to the mass, stir, salt, pepper. Divide the minced meat into 4 parts and put each on a separate sheet of foil, smeared with olive oil. Wrap in a roll, fasten the edges. Cook in a double boiler for 10-14 minutes. Wash the cabbage, disassemble it into leaves, season with salt and pepper and cook in a double bowl for 10 minutes. Put cabbage leaves on a plate, rolls of foil on them.
vegetable stew
Components:1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 200 g white cabbage, 1 potato, 1 pepper, 100 g corn, 1 tbsp. large. vegetable oil, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt, pepper to taste.
Mandate.Put the chopped onion, the grated carrots, the peeled and chopped tomato in a saucepan heated with oil. Store lightly. Then add the cabbage and potatoes cut into squares, as well as the corn. Stir, add a little water, cover and simmer until done. Five minutes before ready, add pepper and chopped greens.
vegetable pot
Components:1 onion, 1 carrot, 300 g cauliflower, 1 potato, 1-2 eggs, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt and pepper to taste.
Mandate.In a deep pan, greased with olive oil, put a mixture of vegetables: chopped onions and carrots, cabbage and potatoes cut into square pieces. Stir, add chopped greens, pepper, salt, beaten eggs. Put in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Zucchini rolls with cottage cheese
Components:2 medium zucchini, 1/2 red pepper (without seeds), 1 cucumber, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese, 1 bunch of arugula, 1 tbsp. large. olive oil, 1 dl. fresh chopped herbs, salt to taste.
Mandate.Wash the zucchini, cut into thin longitudinal strips, fry lightly on both sides with olive oil for 2 minutes on each side (it can also be baked in the oven). Mix cottage cheese with herbs, salt to taste. Pepper and cucumber are cut into thin longitudinal strips. Place some cottage cheese on the edge of the zucchini strip. Add a few strips of red pepper, cucumber, arugula leaves, wrap in a roll and place on a plate upright.
Casserole with apples
Components:400 g fat-free cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. starch, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. large. sugar, 2 Antonovka apples.
Mandate.Beat the eggs with the salt and sugar, add the cottage cheese and the starch. Peel the apples, remove the core, cut into small cubes and add to the mass. Mix everything. Bake in the microwave for 12 minutes or in the oven until cooked. Serve with yogurt, honey or jam.
Berry dessert curd
Components:400 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, 100 grams of fresh berries, 2 egg whites, 1 tbsp large. sugar, 12 g gelatin, 1/4 sachet of vanillin.
Mandate.Soak the gelatin in 5-7 tablespoons of cold water. Beat the egg whites. Add vanilla, sugar to the cottage cheese, add whipped proteins. Melt the gelatin on low heat until it dissolves and add to the curd mass, beat. Leave in the fridge for 5 hours. Serve garnished with berries.