A well-composed diet will allow you to forget about unbearable joint pain and lead a full life. We talk about the gout diet: what works and what doesn't.
Gout is a chronic systemic metabolic disease that causes inflammation, swelling, and pain in the joints. The disease is associated with the accumulation and retention in the body of salts of uric acid - urates. Gout has been known since ancient times, its main symptoms were described by ancient doctors. Many famous people 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. As for the age at which the first attack usually occurs, in men it is between 35 and 45 years old, and in women between 45 and 50 years old.
gout symptoms
A characteristic sign of gout is the formation of so-called tophi (deposition of uric acid salts in the form of nodules and bumps in the connective tissue). People with gout complain of sharp joint pain; most often, the big toe is affected. From the ancient Greek language, the name of the disease is translated as "leg in a trap", since most often patients are worried about acute pain in the joints of the feet. The intensity of the pain increases rapidly and reaches its peak after about 24 to 48 hours. The joint area is red and swollen. Body temperature may rise, chills appear. Gout attacks are also unpleasant because they limit the patient's movement. If you do not resort to proper treatment, the acute period lasts about a week, and then the symptoms gradually disappear. Gout can progress: pain attacks become more frequent, new joints, for example, elbows, hands, are involved in the pathological process. Due to the growth and enlargement of the nodes, the joints are deformed, their mobility and functionality are impaired. And this leads to problems with movement - the patient becomes less mobile. In the later stages, gout can lead to the development of urolithiasis.
Depending on the nature of the course, the disease can be acute (acute gouty arthritis) or chronic (recurrent arthritis). There are also atypical forms of gout, for example, pseudophlegmonous, asthenic, rheumatoid, etc. They are much less common.
Reasons for the development of the disease
As we have already said, gout develops when a large amount of uric acid is formed in the body, which is not quickly excreted from the body. A large number of factors can contribute to this. These 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 in the body is reduced.
- 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 transfer of hereditary information. Purine bases enter the body with food, drinks, 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 nobility for hearty meals. The body of those who abused meat and alcohol (and above all there are 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 the excretion of uric acid in the urine. It is usually seen in chronic kidney disease. It is generally accepted that gout in such cases is secondary, that is, it is a consequence of another disease. If removed, the gout will also disappear.
Treatment and prevention of gout.
Successful gout treatment is an integrated approach. If possible, specialists try to determine the root cause of the disease and eliminate it. However, this is not always possible, so it is necessary to limit yourself to symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating the manifestations of the disease and improving the quality of life of those who suffer from gout.
The main directions in the treatment of gout.
- Medical treatmentwith anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory drugs. Anti-inflammatory drugs are mainly taken during an exacerbation 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 bases and uric acid in the body.
- local treatment.It is prescribed both during the period of remission and during the exacerbation. It consists in the use of compresses with analgesics and anti-inflammatories, as well as physiotherapy procedures. During the remission period, applications with paraffin, therapeutic mud, which helps eliminate urates and improve joint mobility, are useful.
- Surgery.Allot with strong growth of nodes and cones. They are removed to avoid severe joint deformities and limit their mobility.
- dietingDiet plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of gout. The main goal of such a diet is to reduce the content of uric acid compounds in the body. If the therapeutic and prophylactic diet is followed, purine bases practically do not enter the body from the outside, and the level of uric acid decreases. By limiting consumption or completely eliminating 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 life, and not only during periods of exacerbation.
how to do a diet
Experts recommend taking as a basis for gout dietary table No. 6. This therapeutic and preventive diet was developed by a well-known nutritionist for patients with diseases that are accompanied by the accumulation of uric acid in the body: gout, urolithiasis and urine. acid diathesis. All these ailments are metabolic pathologies and cause serious complications. A special diet helps reduce the concentration of uric acid in the bloodstream and normalizes metabolism in the body. Thanks to a special diet, it is possible to reduce the formation of uric acid and the accumulation of urate in the kidneys and joint spaces. The diet also prevents the accumulation of purine bases, which leads to gout. If you stick to it, you can quickly improve your general condition, reduce joint pain and discomfort.
Features of the diet table number 6
The therapeutic diet is balanced in terms of the chemical composition and caloric content of the products, sufficient in terms of the content of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The energy intensity is 2700 to 3000 kcal. If you are overweight, it is recommended to reduce total calories by reducing carbohydrates.
- The amount of fat is 80-90 g per day. Preference should be given to fats of vegetable origin, the source of which is vegetable oils.
- 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 at 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 liquid consumed should not exceed 1, 5-2 liters (excluding first courses).
The gout diet does not imply strict restrictions, therefore, as a rule, it is well tolerated. Food must be boiled, baked, steamed. Try to avoid frying. It causes the formation of a large number of extractives and carcinogens, which affect the digestive, urinary and cardiovascular systems. You should eat fractionally, every 2-3 hours, in moderate portions, without overeating.
Foods allowed 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?
- Any type of vegetable, both fresh and heat-treated.
- Bakery products made from rye and wheat flour, as well as with the addition of wheat bran.
- First courses cooked in a weak vegetable and fish broth, vegetarian okroshka, beetroot, lean pickle, as well as cabbage soup without meat.
- Dairy and sour-milk products: low-fat kefir, curdled milk, whole milk, low-fat sour cream, plain yogurt, fermented baked milk, and low-fat cottage cheese.
- Fresh and thermally processed fruits and berries.
- Green and black tea with lemon, honey and milk. Homemade fruit and berry kissels, fruit and vegetable juices, berry fruit drinks. Herbal infusions (from chamomile flowers, rose hips), fruit compotes, chicory.
- Desserts and sweets: natural honey, marshmallow, natural jam, berry jam, marmalade, homemade marshmallows.
- Fats: refined sunflower, corn, olive, linseed oil. Butter is also allowed.
The foods and foods listed are considered safe for gout. There are also a number of products that you cannot exclude from the menu, but you do limit their use.
- Quail and chicken eggs, cooked in the form of steamed tortillas, hard-boiled or soft-boiled (no more than 1 egg per day).
- Of meat products, it is allowed to eat beef, lean meat, rabbit, turkey and chicken. From fish - fish of dietary varieties. Meat and fish dishes should be consumed no 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.
- It is recommended to limit pasta to a minimum.
What not to eat with gout
Your diet should not contain foods that contain large amounts of purine bases and uric acid. These are the foods that are not recommended for gout.
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
- Chocolate, cocoa.
- First courses cooked in strong meat and fish broth.
- All kinds of nuts and legumes, grape juice.
- Hard and pickled cheeses.
- Sausages, smoked products, sausages, canned fish and meat, organ meats, as well as meat and fish ingredients with a high fat content.
- All kinds of appetizers, pates, sauces, spices, condiments, ketchups, mayonnaise, mustard, grated horseradish root.
- Puff pastry, pastry, chocolate and caramel products.
Sample menu for the week.
Here is a seven-day sample menu for people with gout. It can be adjusted according to your preferences.
Monday
Breakfast:vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil (sunflower, corn or olive); 1 soft-boiled chicken egg; pumpkin or carrot juice.
Lunch:baked pumpkin 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 drink of green or rosehip tea.
Dinner:vegetarian cabbage rolls; fruit and berry jelly; low-fat cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruits.
Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of low-fat milk or kefir.
Tuesday
Breakfast:scrambled eggs with vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil (corn, olive or sunflower), a glass of fruit or vegetable juice.
Lunch:puree any fruit or vegetable; cottage cheese mass with the addition of dried fruits; a glass of herbal tea.
Dinner:stewed zucchini with fresh herbs; mashed potatoes; vegetable salad, black or green tea.
Afternoon snack:a serving of fresh berries or fruit; smoothie 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 serving of fruit salad garnished with natural yogurt.
Dinner:vegetarian cabbage soup; pumpkin cutlets; a glass of whole milk
Afternoon snack:a glass of fermented baked milk or kefir; portion of berries
Dinner:pancakes with fruit filling; fruit and berry compote.
Thursday
Breakfast:cottage cheese and carrot casserole; porridge; Fruit compote
Lunch:homemade noodles boiled in milk.
Dinner:steamed veal cutlets with stewed 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:curd soufflé; fruit or vegetable juice.
Lunch:plain yogurt with the addition of wheat bran.
Dinner:white cabbage salad and grated carrot; vegetarian soup; tomato juice.
Afternoon snack:fruit jelly or a piece of fruit.
Dinner:Baked Vegetables; oatmeal, mild green or black tea.
Saturday
Breakfast:steamed cheesecakes; plain yogurt; Fruit jelly.
Lunch:corn or oatmeal with milk.
Dinner:steamed dietary fish with mashed potatoes; vegetarian soup with zucchini; weak black tea with lemon.
Afternoon snack:berry or smoothie.
Dinner:vegetable salad; corn grits porridge; pumpkin, apple or carrot juice.
Sunday
Breakfast:vegetable salad; a slice of bread with bran; rosehip drink
Lunch:carrot and pumpkin salad, 1 soft-boiled chicken egg.
Dinner:potato cutlets with the addition of grated zucchini; homemade noodles cooked in milk; Fruit jelly.
Afternoon snack:cottage cheese casserole with fruits.
Dinner:vegetable cabbage rolls; a glass of whole milk or low-fat kefir.
Prescriptions
Vegetarian vegetable borscht
Ingredients:2. 5 liters of water, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 beet, 1 tomato, 1 root or stalk of celery, 2 potatoes, 200 g white cabbage, salt, pepper to taste, herbs (dill, parsley), low sour in fat cream or natural yogurt - to serve.
Instruction.Put vegetables cut into small cubes or grated on a coarse grater in boiling water: onions, carrots, celery, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes (without peel). Cook until vegetables are done. Salt, seasonThen put finely chopped greens. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the borscht rest. Serve with sour cream or yogurt (optional). In the finished borscht, you can put a piece of lean boiled meat.
Omelet with poultry or meat
Ingredients:turkey breast fillet (chicken, guinea fowl) skinless or lean boiled meat (beef, veal), 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. low-fat milk, salt to taste.
Instruction.Beat the eggs with the milk. Salt. Pieces of boiled or baked poultry (meat), pour over the stirred dough. Bake on both sides in the microwave, slow cooker, or in a deep skillet.
boiled cod
Ingredients:500 g cod fillet, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp. iolive oil, parsley root (to taste), peppercorns (4-5 peas), herbs (dill, parsley) - 1 tbsp. l. , salt to taste.
Instruction.Rinse the fillet in cold water with the addition of lemon, cut into portions. Put the pieces in the boiling broth with roots and spices so that the water covers the fish. Simmer the cod under the lid for 12 minutes. Serve with vegetable stew.
Carrot, apple and pumpkin salad
Ingredients:100 g fresh pumpkin, 1 medium carrot, 1 green apple, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 2-3 slices of orange or tangerine.
Instruction.Rub vegetables on a coarse grater, mix. Add lemon juice and decorate the salad with slices of orange (tangerine).
Pike-perch rolls with Chinese cabbage
Ingredients:500 g of pike perch, 200 g of cottage cheese (5%), 4 egg whites, 1 green Chinese cabbage, salt and pepper to taste.
Instruction.Grind with a mixer or pass the pike perch fillet through a meat grinder twice. Then mix with curd. Beat the whites and add to the dough, mix, salt, pepper. Divide the minced meat into 4 parts and place each on a separate sheet of foil, greased with olive oil. Roll into a roll, fasten the edges. Cook in a water bath for 10-14 minutes. Wash the cabbage, cut into leaves, salt, pepper and cook in a water bath for 10 minutes. Put cabbage leaves on a plate, pike perch rolls rolled out of foil on them.
vegetable stew
Ingredients:1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 200 g of white cabbage, 1 potato, 1 pepper, 100 g of small corn, 1 tbsp. ivegetable oil, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt, pepper to taste.
Instruction.Put the finely chopped onion, grated carrots, peeled and chopped tomato in a saucepan heated with oil. Save lightly. Then add the cabbage and diced potatoes, as well as the corn. Stir, add a little water, cover and simmer until done. Five minutes before readiness, add pepper and finely chopped greens.
vegetable casserole
Ingredients:1 onion, 1 carrot, 300 g cauliflower, 1 potato, 1-2 eggs, herbs (dill, parsley, celery), salt and pepper to taste.
Instruction.In a deep baking dish, greased with olive oil, put a mixture of vegetables: finely chopped onions and carrots, cabbage and potatoes cut into squares. Stir, add finely chopped greens, pepper, salt, beaten eggs. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Zucchini rolls with cottage cheese
Ingredients:2 medium zucchini, 1/2 red pepper (without seeds), 1 cucumber, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese, 1 bunch of arugula, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 dl. Finely chopped fresh herbs, salt to taste.
Instruction.Wash the courgettes, cut them into thin longitudinal strips, lightly fry them on both sides with olive oil for 2 minutes on each side (can be baked in the oven). Mix cottage cheese with herbs, salt to taste. Pepper and cucumber cut into thin longitudinal strips. Place a little cottage cheese on the end of the zucchini strip. Add a few strips of red pepper, cucumber, rocket leaves, roll up and place on a plate upright.
Curd casserole with apples
Ingredients:400 g fat-free cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. starch, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tablespoonyosugar, 2 Antonovka apples.
Instruction.Beat eggs with salt and sugar, add cottage cheese and starch. Peel the apples, remove the core, cut into small cubes and add to the dough. Mix everything. Cook in the microwave for 12 minutes or in the oven until cooked through. Serve with yogurt, honey or jam.
berry curd dessert
Ingredients:400 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 100 g of fresh berries, 2 egg whites, 1 tbsp. Isugar, 12 g of gelatin, 1/4 sachet of vanillin.
Instruction.Soak gelatin in 5-7 tablespoons of cold water. Beat the whites. Add vanillin, sugar to cottage cheese, add whipped proteins. Melt the gelatin over low heat until dissolved and add to the curd mass, whisk. Leave in the refrigerator for 5 hours and serve garnished with berries.