John Myers
Especially for gout patients, mainly low-purine food should be on the menu. To make choosing the right foods a little easier, we have listed 81 foods and their purine content.
What is purine?
Purines occur as natural components in many foods in varying concentrations. They are then broken down in the body. The end product of this metabolic process is uric acid. If the uric acid concentration in the blood is too high because the kidneys have problems excreting it, the affected person then develops the metabolic disease gout. A low-purine diet is therefore recommended, especially for gout patients. We show you here which food choices are available to you.
Note: This article is purely informative and does not replace any medical diagnosis, treatment, or therapy!
Low-purine diet for gout
The be-all and end-all are to put mainly low-purine foods on the menu. In this way, gout attacks can be reduced or, in the best case, even avoided completely. Although a low-purine diet cannot be regarded as a cure, it can have a very positive effect on the course of the disease.
Tip: gout patients tolerate about 200 milligrams of purine per day, depending on body weight and size, of course. Especially at the beginning of the disease, it is important to calculate the purine content in meals on a daily basis.
Low-purine diet: purine table
At our table, we show you popular foods that should preferably end up on your plate if you have to eat a low-purine diet. In addition to the foods, you will also find their purine content. So you can easily calculate how many purines you are consuming and specifically select the foods that are suitable for a low-purine diet.
Vegetables
Vegetables are healthy – and that’s no secret! It should also be included in sufficient quantities in a low-purine diet. Here you will find the lowest purine vegetables:
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- cucumber 3
- peppers 4
- Radic 4
- lettuce 4
- radish 4
- tomatoes 4
- Envidia salad 5
- potato 6
- carrot 6
- onion 4
- fennel 8
- white cabbage 8
- eggplant 9
- Beetroot 9
- sauerkraut 9
- zucchini 9
- lamb’s lettuce 10
- Chinese cabbage 10
- olive 10
- Kohlrabi 13
Fruit
You don’t have to do without the natural sweetness of fruit either. Whether in breakfast or as a healthy snack in between. The following varieties belong to low-purine diets:
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- rhubarb 2
- gooseberry 6
- Cherry 6
- currant 6
- grapefruit 6
- blackberry 6
- pear 6
- apple 6
- pineapple 8
- apricot 8
- raspberry 8
- honeydew melon 8
- kiwi 8
- orange 8
- peach 8
- blueberry 10
- strawberry 10
- watermelon 10
- bunch of grapes 10
- avocado 13
Attention: Half-dried fruit and dried fruit should only be exceptions! They contain a lot of fructose. If too much is consumed, the purine production in the body increases.
Dairy Products & Eggs
No – you don’t have to do without quark, yogurt, and cheese! Because most dairy products contain little or no purine at all! You can therefore use the following products:
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- buttermilk 0
- sour milk 0
- milk 0
- kefir 0
- natural yogurt 0
- cottage cheese 0
- mountain cheese 4
- butter cheese 4
- camembert 4
- Edam 4th
- Emmental 4
- gouda 4
- Limburg 4th
- Mozzarella 4
- Tilsiter 4
- Processed cheese 6
- feta 13
- whole egg 2
Note: With yogurt, quark, and co. you should always use the natural version! Products such as fruit flavor usually contain a lot of sugar.
Cereal products
If you want to eat a low-purine diet, you also have a good selection of filling side dishes. Sago, semolina, and pearl barley are particularly low in purines. We have listed further suggestions for you in the following table:
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- sago 2
- Semolina, cooked 4
- Barley barley, cooked 9
- Rolled oats, cooked 11
- Pasta made from durum wheat semolina cooked 11
- Rice, cooked 13
- Millet cooked 14
- Wholemeal pasta cooked 14
Nuts
Nuts are also part of the low-purine diet. They also provide you with healthy fatty acids, which are important for a balanced hormone balance. Therefore, include them regularly in your diet.
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- Brazil nuts 9
- walnuts 10
- hazelnuts 17
- almonds 17
Tip: Healthy fats are also found in vegetable oils. Therefore, use walnut, linseed, and olive oil for a low-purine diet.
Meat
Compared to the foods already listed, meat and sausage are rather rich in purine. Meat and sausage products should therefore only be consumed in small quantities and only together with sufficient alkaline foods such as vegetables. The following meat products can end up on your plate:
Food – purine content in mg per 100 g of food
- Pork chop 49
- Turkey Escalope 50
- Veal cutlet 52
- rabbit 60
- Veal (muscle meat) 63
- Pork (muscle meat) 63
- pork shoulder 63
- deer 63
Better not
Once your uric acid levels have returned to normal, you no longer need to calculate how much purine you are consuming every day. However, a balanced and healthy diet that emphasizes low-purine foods is definitely recommended. You should therefore avoid the following foods or only eat them very rarely:
- Fatty meat and sausage products
- Offal
- sprat and fish such as trout and herring (with skin)
- ready meals
- high-sugar foods
- Alcohol, especially beer
Tip: Meat and sausage products as well as fish and seafood should only be consumed in the right ratio with alkaline foods. The rule of thumb is 200 g of vegetables for every 100 g of meat/sausage/fish. In any case, prefer high-quality products.
Legumes, soybeans, and mushrooms also do not belong in the low-purine foods category, but according to the current state of nutritional research, you can also eat them in moderation as part of a low-purine diet.
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