Gout is a rheumatic disease caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints. Clinical manifestations of the disease include pain, deformation of the affected joint, dysfunction and the formation of characteristic nodules (tophi).
Without treatment, the disease progresses over time and salt deposits in the form of microcrystals begin to accumulate in the internal organs. Most often the kidneys are affected, leading to the development of pyelonephritis, renal failure and other complications. The diagnosis is made based on symptoms and confirmed by puncture of the affected joint and x-ray. Treatment includes pharmacotherapy, special diet and physiotherapy.
Basic principles of nutrition
The attending physician draws up an approximate menu individually for each patient, taking into account the form and severity of the disease, the presence of concomitant diseases, the patient's age and the characteristics of his body.
The aim of the diet is to minimize the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to an improvement in the patient's general well-being and an improvement in his quality of life. Food should not contain purines, which, after entering the body, are converted into uric acid.
It is recommended to include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. The recipes are quite simple, the main thing is to prepare them correctly and not to use ingredients from the list of prohibited foods.
Therapeutic nutrition helps the patient at home to quickly improve his general well-being, relieve unpleasant symptoms and even extend the duration of periods of remission. A departure from the diet, consumption of spicy and fatty foods, alcohol (especially wine and beer), coffee quickly lead to an increase in the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to a further attack of the disease. Therefore, you have to constantly follow a diet. Proper nutrition during periods of remission and especially exacerbation will help avoid the development of a number of serious complications.
The patient should always have in mind a table of permitted foods, as well as recipes for preparing various dishes. This will help create the optimal menu based on the individual food preferences of each patient and taking into account the characteristics of his body.
It is not only important to use the right products, but also to adhere to a specific diet. You should eat often, but in small portions (partial meals). Fasting and overeating are unacceptable as this can provoke an attack of illness. If you have excess weight, you need to get rid of it. However, this should be done gradually, as sudden weight loss can have negative health effects, especially if the patient is no longer young.
We should not forget about the drinking regime. You need to drink at least one and a half liters of fluid per day (up to three liters during periods of exacerbation). In addition to water, compotes, mineral water, weak tea, fruit drinks and rosehip decoction are allowed for consumption. It is better to drink not during meals, but between meals.
Prohibited products
You need to follow the diet throughout your life, and not just during exacerbations. The diet should be as balanced as possible. Dairy products and vegetables are allowed. It is important to drink enough fluids as this speeds up the removal of excess uric acid from the body.
With the help of a diet, you can not only relieve the symptoms of the disease and reduce the frequency of exacerbations, but also normalize weight, thereby reducing the load on the affected joints. The main rule is to exclude foods rich in purines from the diet.
These include:
- cakes and pastries;
- canned food;
- Legumes;
- Bake;
- Offal;
- processed meat products (sausages, sausages, etc. );
- fatty fish;
- Chocolate;
- spicy, salty, smoked, pickled foods;
- Fast food;
- Mushrooms;
- any alcohol, but especially wine and beer;
- Cocoa, strong black tea, coffee.
If metabolic disorders occur against the background of diabetes or atherosclerosis, careful monitoring of the total calorie content of food, the amount of fatty foods, and cholesterol and sugar levels is necessary.
Authorized Products
The gout diet is based on the principles of healthy eating and is therefore not very difficult to follow. The main thing is to get used to changing your diet. Then everything will be easier. Forbidden foods should be completely excluded.
Approved products are:
- Diet meat (rabbit, chicken, turkey);
- eggs (small quantities);
- fermented milk products;
- vegetable oils (linseed and olive oil are the best options);
- Seafood;
- pasta, cereals;
- low-fat fish varieties;
- fresh fruits and vegetables that are not on the list of prohibited foods;
- jam, pastille, marshmallows;
- non-chocolate candies;
- dried fruits (except raisins);
- Honey.
It is necessary to clearly understand that you need to eat according to the above recommendations for the rest of your life. Violations of the diet and consumption of forbidden foods quickly lead to an exacerbation of the disease.
Diet for gout: table number 6
Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely cure the disease, especially if its course is complicated by diabetes or obesity. However, adhering to diet No. 6 allows you to quickly relieve exacerbations and reduce the frequency of relapses of the disease.
Nutritional features of this diet:
- It is necessary to completely exclude from the diet foods rich in purines and oxalic acid salts;
- it is necessary to limit salt consumption; in particularly severe cases, this product is completely excluded from the diet;
- there must be milk, vegetables and other alkalizing foods on the table;
- If there are no contraindications (kidney disease, heart disease and a number of others), you need to significantly increase the amount of fluid consumed, which promotes the rapid removal of uric acid salts from the body;
- it is necessary to minimize the amount of refractory fats and animal protein;
- If the patient is obese, you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
The classic standard menu is signed by the attending physician. There may be multiple dining options. The food should be prepared as usual, the food should be at normal temperature. It is recommended to cook fish and meat. Meat and mushroom broths must be drained because they contain large amounts of purines.
With such a diet, nutrition normalizes, purine metabolism in the body gradually stabilizes, and the amount of uric acid salts decreases. In addition, over time, the patient gets rid of obesity, which also has a positive effect on health and improves the quality of life. Joint pain disappears, inflammation is reduced, which reduces the likelihood of the disease recurring in the future.
Important!There is no need for self-medication. The development of the diet should be carried out by a specialist. Diet No. 6, despite its effectiveness, may not be suitable for all patients. Much depends on the patient's age, the course of the disease and the presence of accompanying pathologies. For example, if a person suffers from obesity in addition to gout, he can be prescribed diet number 8, which provides for more serious restrictions.
Diet for gout in men and women during an exacerbation
In case of exacerbation of this pathology, it is necessary to follow diet No. 6 for at least two weeks. Liquid foods should be preferred. It is necessary to limit the consumption of fatty meat, fish and poultry as much as possible.
The menu is based on liquid porridges, vegetable soups and fermented milk products. Meals are fractional. Long gaps between meals, overeating or fasting increase the likelihood of an illness flare-up. You can drink compotes, jelly, mineral water, juices and weak tea.
Drinking regime
How much and what type of water should you drink if you have gout? The total amount of fluid should be at least 2 liters per day.
If the patient experiences a complication in the form of urolithiasis, it is recommended to drink alkalizing mineral water or water with the addition of potassium bicarbonate. You can increase the alkaline balance with the help of citrus fruits and, with the exception of animal protein, include large amounts of vegetable protein in your diet.
Alcohol consumption is often one of the main causes of the disease. Therefore, you should avoid alcoholic drinks completely. Dry red wine, which can be drunk in small doses for other illnesses, is also prohibited for gout. Sometimes it is enough to drink just a few sips of alcohol for another attack of the disease to occur. Cocoa, coffee and strong black tea are also completely forbidden.
In addition to cleansing the body of toxins, drinking plenty of fluids improves kidney function and stimulates the dissolution of uric acid crystals and their excretion. This allows not only to improve the patient's health and well-being, but also to reduce the dosage of certain medications.
Sample menu for the week
Monday
- For breakfast you can cook an omelet, baked or stewed, eat 150 grams of vegetable salad and a few slices of bread.
- For lunch, you can cook vegetable soup and eat low-fat boiled or stewed fish.
- For dinner, prepare a vegetable stew with eggplant and zucchini, and you can also eat a piece of bread with it.
Tuesday
- For breakfast, prepare oatmeal with dried or fresh fruits.
- For lunch, pilaf with lean chicken fillet without frying.
- For dinner, prepare a vegetable stew with potatoes and low-fat cheese, baked in the oven. You can also eat a piece of bread.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg white omelet, zrazy with carrots and fruits, weak tea with milk.
- Lunch: thin rice soup, cauliflower stewed in milk, dried fruit compote.
- Dinner: pasta with sugar and cottage cheese, gazpacho, kefir.
Thursday
- For breakfast they prepare a cottage cheese salad with cucumbers, green onions and unsalted cheese, dressed with nut butter. You can eat a piece of bread. Rinse everything down with rosehip decoction.
- For lunch you can cook pureed fish soup, prepare a salad with beets and sour cream, eat 2 jacket potatoes and drink compote.
- For dinner they eat rice porridge with milk. As a drink, chicory with milk.
Friday
- Breakfast: cheesecake or cottage cheese baked in the oven with sour cream, fruit.
- Lunch: vegetable sauce, durum wheat pasta, with seafood.
- Dinner: buckwheat porridge with lean fish, baked in the oven.
Saturday
- For breakfast they cook wheat porridge in water and eat dried fruits.
- Vegetable soup is prepared for lunch. You can also eat a piece of bread and some pumpkin seeds.
- For dinner, vegetable stew, boiled egg, seafood.
Sunday
- Breakfast: natural yogurt, cheese sandwiches, weakly brewed tea.
- Lunch: soup with vegetables and barley, potato cutlets with sour cream.
- Dinner: a piece of lean boiled pork, salad with fresh vegetables, buckwheat porridge.