Gout is a disease of rheumatic etiology caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints. The clinical manifestations of this disease are pain, deformation of affected joints, dysfunction, and the formation of characteristic nodules (tophi).
Without treatment, the disease develops over time, and salt deposits in the form of microcrystals begin to accumulate in the internal organs. Often the kidneys are affected, which leads to the development of pyelonephritis, kidney failure, and other complications. Diagnosis is made based on symptoms and confirmed by puncture of the affected joint and x-ray. Treatment includes pharmacotherapy, special diet, and physical therapy.
Basic principles of diet
The estimated menu is prepared by the attending physician, individually for each patient, taking into account the form and severity of the disease, the presence of concomitant pathology, the patient's age, and his body characteristics.
The goal of the diet is to minimize the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to an increase in the patient's general well-being and improves his quality of life. Food products should not contain purines, which, after entering the body, turn into uric acid.
It is recommended to include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. The recipe is quite simple, the main thing is to prepare it correctly and not use ingredients from the list of prohibited foods.
Therapeutic nutrition helps patients at home to quickly improve overall well-being, relieve unpleasant symptoms and also increase the duration of the remission period. Departing from the diet, the consumption of spicy and fatty foods, alcohol (especially wine and beer), coffee, quickly increase the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to other attacks of the disease. Therefore, you need to follow the diet continuously. Proper nutrition during periods of remission and especially exacerbations will help prevent the development of some serious complications.
The patient should always have a table of permitted foods in front of his eyes, as well as recipes for preparing various dishes. This will help create an optimal menu based on the individual food preferences of each patient and take into account the characteristics of his body.
It is important not only to use the right products, but also to follow a certain diet. You should eat food often, but in small portions (fractional meals). Fasting and overeating are unacceptable, as this can trigger an attack of the disease. If you are overweight, you need to get rid of it. But this should be done gradually; Sudden weight loss can have a negative impact on health, especially if the patient is no longer young.
We should not forget the drinking regime. You need to drink at least one and a half liters of liquid every day (up to three liters during exacerbations). In addition to water, compote, mineral water, weak tea, fruit drinks, and rosehip decoction are allowed to be consumed. It is better to drink not during meals, but between meals.
Prohibited Products
You need to follow a diet throughout your life, and not just during an exacerbation. Nutrition 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 diet, you can not only reduce the symptoms of the disease and reduce the frequency of exacerbations, but also normalize body weight, reduce the load on the affected joints. The main rule is to exclude foods rich in purines from the diet.
This includes:
- cakes and pastries;
- canned food;
- legumes;
- burn;
- offal;
- processed meat products (sausages, frankfurters, etc. );
- fatty fish;
- chocolate;
- spicy, salty, smoked, pickled foods;
- snacks;
- mushrooms;
- any alcohol, but especially wine and beer;
- cocoa, strong black tea, coffee.
If metabolic disorders occur against the background of diabetes or atherosclerosis, then it is necessary to carefully monitor the total calorie content of food, the amount of fatty foods, cholesterol and sugar levels.
Legal Products
The gout diet is based on the principles of a healthy diet, so it is not that difficult to follow. The main thing is to get used to the changes in your diet. Then everything will be easier. Forbidden foods should be completely excluded.
Allowed products include:
- dietary meat (rabbit, chicken, turkey);
- eggs (small quantity);
- fermented milk products;
- vegetable oil (linseed and olive oil are the best choices);
- seafood;
- pasta, cereal;
- types of low-fat fish;
- fresh fruits and vegetables that are not on the list of prohibited foods;
- marmalade, pastille, marshmallow;
- sweets without chocolate;
- dried fruits (except raisins);
- Dear.
It is necessary to clearly understand that you need to eat according to the above recommendations for the rest of your life. Violation of the diet and the use of prohibited foods quickly aggravate the disease.
Diet for gout: table No. 6
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely cure this disease, especially if the course is complicated by diabetes or obesity. However, by following diet No. 6, you can quickly relieve the severity and reduce the frequency of disease relapses.
Nutritional features of this diet:
- It is necessary to completely exclude foods rich in purines and oxalic acid salts from the menu;
- it is necessary to limit the use of salt, especially in severe cases, this product is completely excluded from the diet;
- there must be milk, vegetables and other alkaline foods on the table;
- if there are no contraindications (kidney disease, heart disease and some others), then 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 fat and animal protein;
- if the patient is obese, then you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
The classic standard menu is signed by the attending physician. There may be several food options. Food should be prepared as usual, food should be at normal temperature. It is recommended to boil fish and meat. Meat and mushroom soup should be drained, as it contains a large amount of purines.
When following such a diet, nutrition becomes normal, purine metabolism in the body gradually stabilizes, and the amount of uric acid salts decreases. In addition, patients get rid of obesity over time, which also has a positive effect on health and improves quality of life. Joint pain disappears, inflammation decreases, which reduces the possibility of disease recurrence in the future.
Important!No need to self-medicate. Diet development should be carried out by experts. Diet No. 6, despite its effectiveness, may not be suitable for all patients. Much depends on the age of the patient, the course of the disease, and the presence of concomitant pathology. For example, if a person, in addition to gout, is obese, then he may be given diet No. 8, which provides more serious restrictions.
Diet for gout in men and women during exacerbation
In case of exacerbation of this pathology, it is necessary to follow diet No. 6 for at least two weeks. Preference should be given to liquid food. It is necessary to limit the consumption of fatty meat, fish and poultry as much as possible.
The menu is based on liquid porridge, vegetable soup, and fermented milk products. Food is a fraction. Long breaks between meals, overeating or fasting increase the likelihood of an attack of illness. You can drink compote, jelly, mineral water, juice, weak tea.
Drinking regime
How much and what kind of water should you drink if you have gout? The amount of liquid should be at least 2 liters per day.
If the patient has complications in the form of urolithiasis, it is recommended to drink alkaline mineral water or water with the addition of potassium bicarbonate. You can improve the alkaline balance with the help of citrus fruits, as well as introduce a large amount of vegetable protein into the diet with the exception of animal protein.
Often, alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of this disease. Therefore, you should completely avoid alcoholic beverages. Even dry red wine, which is allowed to drink in small doses for other diseases, is forbidden for gout. Sometimes it is enough to drink just a few sips of alcohol for another attack of the disease to appear. Cocoa, coffee, and strong black tea are also strictly prohibited.
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 removal. This allows not only to improve the health and well-being of the patient, but also to reduce the dose of certain drugs.
Sample menu for this week
Monday
- For breakfast, you can cook an omelet, baked or steamed, eat 150 grams of vegetable salad and a few slices of bread.
- For lunch, you can cook vegetable soup, eat some low-fat boiled or steamed fish.
- For dinner, prepare vegetable stew with eggplant and zucchini, and you can also eat a piece of bread.
Tuesday
- For breakfast, prepare oatmeal with dried or fresh fruit.
- For lunch, pilaf with lean chicken fillet without frying.
- For dinner, make 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, boiled cauliflower 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 peanut butter. You can eat a piece of bread. Wash everything with rosehip broth.
- For lunch, you can cook pureed fish soup, make 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 cooked in the oven or cottage cheese with sour cream, fruit.
- Lunch: vegetable sauce, pasta made from durum wheat, 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 available for lunch. You can also eat a piece of bread, some pumpkin seeds.
- For dinner, boiled vegetables, boiled eggs, seafood.
Sunday
- Breakfast: natural yogurt, cheese sandwich, weakly brewed tea.
- Lunch: soup with vegetables and barley, cut potatoes with sour cream.
- Dinner: a piece of lean boiled pork, salad with fresh vegetables, buckwheat porridge.