Gout is a disease of rheumatic etiology caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints. Clinical manifestations of the disease are pain, deformity 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, which leads to the development of pyelonephritis, renal failure and other complications. The diagnosis is based on the symptoms and is confirmed by puncture of the affected joint and X-ray. Treatment includes drug therapy, special diet and physical therapy.
Basic principles of nutrition
An approximate menu is drawn up by the attending physician, individually for each patient, taking into account the form and severity of the disease, the presence of accompanying pathologies, the age of the patient and the characteristics of his body.
The goal of the diet is to minimize the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to an improvement in the general well-being of the patient 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 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 their overall well-being, relieve unpleasant symptoms and even increase the duration of periods of remission. Moving away from the diet, eating spicy and fatty foods, alcohol (especially wine and beer), coffee, quickly increase the level of uric acid in the body, which leads to another attack of the disease. Therefore, you need to follow a diet constantly. Proper nutrition during periods of recession and especially during periods of exacerbation will help to avoid the development of a number of serious complications.
The patient should always have before his eyes a table with permitted foods, as well as recipes for the preparation of various dishes. This will help to create the optimal menu based on the individual dietary preferences of each patient and taking into account the characteristics of their 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 provoke 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 must not forget the alcohol consumption regime. You should drink at least one and a half liters of fluids a day (up to three liters during periods of flare-ups). In addition to water, compotes, mineral water, weak tea, fruit drinks and rose decoction are allowed for consumption. It is better to drink not during meals, but between meals.
Prohibited Products
You must follow the diet throughout your life, not just during flare-ups. The diet should be as balanced as possible. Dairy products and vegetables are allowed. It is important to drink plenty of 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 the weight, 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;
- baking;
- offal;
- processed meat products (sausage, frankfurter, etc. ).
- oily fish;
- chocolate;
- spicy, salty, smoked, pickled foods.
- fast food;
- mushrooms?
- any alcohol, but mostly wine and beer.
- cocoa, strong black tea, coffee.
If metabolic disorders appear 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.
Authorized Products
The gout diet is based on the principles of healthy eating, so it's not too difficult to follow. The main thing is to get used to the changes in your diet. Then everything will be easier. Forbidden foods must be completely excluded.
Allowed products include:
- dietary meats (rabbit, chicken, turkey).
- eggs (small amounts);
- fermented milk products;
- vegetable oils (linseed and olive oil are the best choices).
- seafood;
- pasta, cereal;
- low-fat varieties of fish.
- fresh fruits and vegetables not included in the list of prohibited foods;
- jam, lozenges, marshmallows;
- candies without chocolate;
- dried fruit (except raisins);
- honey.
It is necessary to clearly understand that you will have to eat according to the above recommendations for the rest of your life. Violation of the diet and consumption of forbidden foods quickly provokes an exacerbation of the disease.
Diet for gout: table No. 6
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely cure the disease, especially if its course is complicated by diabetes or obesity. However, following diet No. 6, you can quickly relieve exacerbations and reduce the frequency of relapses of the disease.
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 consumption of salt; in particularly severe cases, this product is completely excluded from the diet.
- there should be milk, vegetables and other alkaline foods on the table.
- if there are no contraindications (kidney disease, heart disease and many 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 fats and animal proteins.
- 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 many food options. Food should be prepared as usual, food should be at normal temperature. Boiling fish and meat is recommended. Meat and mushroom broths should be drained, as they contain a large amount of purines.
When you follow such a diet, the diet is normalized, the metabolism of purines in the body gradually stabilizes and the amount of uric acid salts decreases. In addition, the patient gets rid of obesity over time, which also has a positive effect on health and improves the quality of life. Pain in the joints disappears, inflammation decreases, which reduces the likelihood of recurrence of the disease in the future.
Great!You don't need to self-medicate. The development of the diet should be done by an expert. 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 accompanying pathologies. For example, if a person, in addition to gout, is obese, then he may be prescribed diet No. 8, which provides for more severe restrictions.
Diet for gout in men and women during an exacerbation
In case of exacerbations 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 as much as possible the consumption of fatty meats, fish and poultry.
The menu is based on liquid porridges, vegetable soups and fermented dairy products. Meals are fractional. Long breaks between meals, overeating or fasting increase the likelihood of an attack of the disease. You can drink compotes, jelly, mineral water, juices, weak tea.
Consumption regime
How much and what kind of water to drink if you have gout? The total amount of fluid should be at least 2 liters per day.
If the patient has a complication in the form of urolithiasis, it is recommended to drink alkaline mineral waters or water with the addition of potassium bicarbonate. You can increase the alkaline balance with the help of citrus fruits, as well as by introducing a large amount of vegetable protein in the diet with the exception of animal protein.
Quite often, alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of the disease. Therefore, you should completely avoid alcoholic beverages. Even red dry wine, which is allowed to be drunk in small doses for other diseases, is forbidden for gout. Sometimes it is enough to drink only a few sips of alcohol for another attack of the disease to occur. Cocoa, coffee and strong black tea are also completely 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 elimination. 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 the 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 boiled or steamed low-fat fish.
- For dinner, prepare a vegetable stew with eggplants 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 a vegetable stew with potatoes and low-fat cheese, which is baked in the oven. You can also eat a piece of bread.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg white omelette, carrot and fruit salad, weak tea with milk.
- Lunch: thin rice soup, cauliflower boiled 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. Wash everything down with rose water.
- For lunch, you can cook mashed fish soup, make a salad with beets and sour cream, eat 2 potatoes and drink compote.
- For dinner they eat rice porridge with milk. As a drink, chicory with milk.
Friday
- Breakfast: cheesecakes cooked in the oven or cottage cheese 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 fruit.
- Vegetable soup is prepared for lunch. You can also eat a piece of bread, some pumpkin seeds.
- For dinner, vegetable stew, boiled egg, seafood.
Sunday
- Breakfast: natural yogurt, cheese sandwich, weakly brewed tea.
- Lunch: soup with vegetables and barley, chips with sour cream.
- Dinner: a piece of lean boiled pork, salad with fresh vegetables, buckwheat porridge.