A properly composed diet will allow you to forget about terrible joint pains and lead a full life. We are talking about a diet for gout: what is useful and what is not.
Gout is a systemic chronic metabolic disease that causes inflammation, swelling and pain in the joints. The disease is associated with the accumulation and retention in the body of uric acid salts - urate. 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, English King Henry VIII, German scientist Gottfried Leibniz, philosophers Voltaire Kant and Schopenhauer.
Gout is still a very common disease. This disease most often affects men. As for the age at which the first attack usually occurs, it is 35-45 years for men, and 45-50 years for women.
gout symptoms
A characteristic sign of gout is the formation of so-called tofus (deposition of uric acid salts in the form of nodules and nodules in the connective tissue). Gout sufferers complain of acute joint pain - most often the big toe is affected. From the ancient Greek language, the name of the disease was translated as "foot in a trap", because patients are most often worried about acute pain in the ankles. The intensity of the pain increases rapidly and reaches a peak after approximately 24-48 hours. The wrist area is red and swollen. Body temperature may rise, chills may occur. Gout attacks are also unpleasant because they restrict the movement of patients. If you do not resort to appropriate treatment, the acute period lasts about a week, and then the symptoms gradually subside. Gout can progress: attacks of pain 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 reduced. 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 flow, 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 rarer.
Reasons for the development of diseases
As we have already said, gout occurs when a large amount of uric acid is created in the body, which is not excreted quickly from the body. A number of factors can contribute to this. Here are the main causes of high uric acid levels and the development of gout.
- hereditary predisposition. It most often 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 transmission of hereditary information. Purine bases enter the body through food, drink, 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 food and alcohol (and there is mostly purine) 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 usually occurs in chronic kidney disease. It is generally accepted that gout in such cases is secondary, or that it is the result of another disease. If it is eliminated, the gout will also disappear.
Treatment and prevention of gout
The success of gout treatment is an integrated approach. If possible, experts try to determine the root cause of the disease and eliminate it. However, this is not always possible, so it should be limited to symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating the manifestations of the disease and improving the quality of life of gout sufferers.
The main directions in the treatment of gout
- Treatmentwith anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory drugs. Anti-inflammatory drugs are taken mainly during exacerbations to relieve pain and swelling. Anti-gout - 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 in the period of remission and during exacerbation. It consists of the use of compresses with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as physiotherapy procedures. In the period of remission, applications with paraffin, therapeutic mud are useful - it helps remove urate and improves joint mobility.
- Operation.Assign with strong growth of knots and cones. They are removed in order to avoid severe deformations of the joints and limit their mobility.
- Diet.Diet 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 a therapeutic and prophylactic diet is followed, purine bases practically do not enter the body from the outside, and uric acid levels decrease. By limiting consumption or completely eliminating certain foods from the diet, we prevent the development of the disease and delay the next attack. For gout sufferers, it is recommended to adhere to a therapeutic and prophylactic diet throughout life, not just during periods of exacerbations.
How to make a diet
Experts recommend taking diet number 6 as a basis for gout. This therapeutic-preventive diet was developed by a well-known nutritionist for patients with diseases that are accompanied by accumulation of uric acid in the body: gout, urolithiasis and urinary tract disease. acid diathesis. All these diseases are metabolic pathologies and cause serious complications. A special diet helps to reduce the concentration of uric acid in the bloodstream and normalize metabolism in the body. Thanks to a special diet, it is possible to reduce the production of uric acid and the accumulation of urate in the kidneys and joints. 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 pain and discomfort in the joints.
Characteristics of diet table number 6
The therapeutic diet is balanced in terms of chemical composition and caloric content of the product, sufficient in terms of content of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Energy intensity is 2700-3000 kcal. If you are overweight, it is recommended to reduce total calories by reducing carbohydrate intake.
- The amount of fat is 80-90 g per day. Preference should be given to fats of vegetable origin, the source of which are vegetable oils.
- The daily amount of protein is 70-80 g, and at least half of the indicated amount should come from plant protein foods.
- The amount of carbohydrates is 380-400 g per day with normal body weight. With excess weight 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 amount of fluid consumed should not exceed 1, 5-2 liters (excluding first meals).
The diet for gout does not involve strict restrictions, so, as a rule, it is well tolerated. Food should be cooked, baked, steamed. Try to avoid frying. It causes the production of a large number of extracts and carcinogens, which affect the digestive, urinary and cardiovascular systems. It should be eaten in fractions, every 2-3 hours, in moderate portions, without overeating.
Allowed foods for gout
The basis of the therapeutic diet for gout is alkaline food: it normalizes the metabolism of purine bases, and also reduces the amount of uric acid.
What can you eat with gout?
- Any kind of vegetables - fresh and cooked.
- Bakery products from rye and wheat flour, as well as with the addition of wheat bran.
- The first dishes were cooked in a weak soup of vegetables and fish, vegetarian okroshka, beets, lean pickles, as well as meatless cabbage soup.
- Dairy and sour-milk products: low-fat kefir, sour milk, whole milk, low-fat sour cream, natural yogurt, fermented baked milk and low-fat cottage cheese.
- Fruits and berries fresh and cooked.
- Green and black tea with lemon, honey and milk. Homemade fruit and berry pickles, vegetable and fruit juices, berry drinks. Herbal infusions (chamomile flowers, rose hips), fruit compotes, chicory.
- Desserts and sweets: natural honey, marshmallow, natural jam, berry jam, jam, homemade marshmallow.
- Fats: refined sunflower, corn, olive, flaxseed oil. Butter is also allowed.
These foods and foods are considered safe for gout. There are also a number of products that you cannot exclude from the menu, but limit their use.
- Quail and chicken eggs, cooked in the form of steamed omelets, hard-boiled or soft-boiled (no more than 1 egg per day).
- It is allowed to eat veal, lean beef, rabbit, turkey and chicken from meat products. From fish - fish of dietary varieties. Meat and fish dishes should not be eaten more than three times a week, it is best cooked. 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 keep 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. Here are foods that are not recommended for gout.
- Alcoholic and carbonated beverages.
- Chocolate, cocoa.
- The first dishes were cooked in meat and strong fish soup.
- All kinds of nuts and legumes, grape juice.
- Hard and sour cheeses.
- Sausage products, smoked products, sausages, canned fish and meat, offal, as well as meat and fish ingredients with high fat content.
- All kinds of appetizers, pâtés, sauces, spices, condiments, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, grated rhubarb root.
- Puff and pastry products, cakes, chocolate and caramel sweets.
Sample menu for the week
Here is a sample menu for seven days for those who suffer from gout. It can be adjusted according to your wishes.
Monday
breakfast:vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil (sunflower, corn or olive); 1 soft-boiled chicken egg; pumpkin or carrot juice.
lunch:pumpkin baked with honey; a glass of whole milk or natural yogurt.
dinner:cooked chicken breast with vegetable stew; a glass of orange or apple juice.
afternoon snack:vegetarian borscht with potatoes; cooked fish fillet; weak green tea or rosehip drink.
dinner:vegetarian sauerkraut; fruit and berry jellies; low-fat cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruit.
You can drink a glass of milk or low-fat kefir before bed.
Tuesday
breakfast:scrambled eggs with vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil (corn, olive or sunflower), a glass of fruit or vegetable juice.
lunch:puree of any fruit or vegetable; cheese mass with the addition of dried fruit; a cup of herbal tea.
dinner:stewed zucchini with fresh herbs; mashed potatoes; vegetable salad, black or green tea.
afternoon snack:a portion of fresh berries or fruits; a milkshake or a glass of whole milk.
dinner:cottage cheese with the addition of berry jam or dried fruit; berry and fruit compote.
Wednesday
breakfast:cooked rice porridge with the addition of grated apple; weak black or green tea.
lunch:a portion of fruit salad spiced with natural yogurt.
dinner:vegetarian cabbage soup; Zucchini chops; 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:casserole of fresh cheese and carrots; oatmeal; fruit compote.
lunch:homemade noodles cooked in milk.
dinner:steamed beef chops with stewed white cabbage; cooked buckwheat porridge, pumpkin juice.
afternoon snack:carrot juice.
dinner:salad of boiled beets and carrots, seasoned with olive oil; fruit jellies.
Friday
breakfast:curd soufflé; fruit or vegetable juice.
lunch:natural yogurt with the addition of wheat bran.
dinner:white cabbage and grated carrot salad; vegetarian soup; tomato juice.
afternoon snack:fruit jelly or a portion of fruit.
dinner:roasted vegetables; oatmeal, faint green or black tea.
Saturday
breakfast:steamed cheesecakes; natural yogurt; fruit jellies.
lunch:corn or oatmeal with milk.
dinner:steamed diet fish with mashed potatoes; vegetarian zucchini soup; weak black tea with lemon.
afternoon snack:berries or milkshakes.
dinner:vegetable salad; cornmeal porridge; pumpkin, apple or carrot juice.
Sunday
breakfast:vegetable salad; a slice of bread with bran; bar drink.
lunch:carrot and pumpkin salad, 1 soft-boiled chicken egg.
dinner:potato chops with the addition of grated zucchini; homemade noodles cooked in milk; fruit jellies.
afternoon snack:a casserole of fresh cheese with fruit.
dinner:vegetable greens; a glass of whole milk or nonfat kefir.
Recipes
Vegetarian vegetable borscht
Ingredients:2, 5 liters of water, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 beetroot, 1 tomato, 1 root or stalk of celery, 2 potatoes, 200 g of white cabbage, salt, pepper - to taste, herbs (dill, parsley), non-fat sourcream or natural yogurt - for serving.
Instructions.Put vegetables cut into small cubes or grated on a large grater in boiling water: onions, carrots, celery, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes (without peel). Cook until the vegetables are ready. Add salt and spices. Then put the finely chopped greens. Remove the pot from the heat and let the borscht cook. Serve with sour cream or yogurt (optional). You can put a piece of lean cooked beef in the finished borscht.
Omelet with poultry or meat
Ingredients:skinless turkey breast fillet (chicken, pearl barley) or lean cooked meat (beef, veal), 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. l. skim milk, to taste.
Instructions.Whisk eggs with milk. Sol. Pour the kneaded mass over the pieces of cooked or roasted poultry (meat). Bake on both sides in the microwave, slow cooker or in a deep frying pan.
Cooked cod
Ingredients:500 g cod fillet, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp. l. olive oil, parsley root (to taste), peppercorns (4-5 peas), herbs (dill, parsley) - 1 tbsp. l. , salt to taste.
Instructions.Wash the fillet in cold water with the addition of lemon, chop into portions. Put the pieces in the soup cooked with the 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.
Instructions.Grate the vegetables on a large grater, stir. Add lemon juice and garnish the salad with slices of orange (mandarin).
Pike roll with Chinese cabbage
Ingredients:500 g perch, 200 g fresh cheese (5%), 4 egg whites, 1 green Chinese cabbage, salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions.Grind with a mixer or twice pass the perch fillet through a meat grinder. Then mix with cottage cheese. Whisk the egg whites and add to the mass, stir, add salt and pepper. Divide the minced meat into 4 parts and place each on a separate sheet of foil, greased with olive oil. Wrap in a roll, fasten the edges. Cook for 10-14 minutes. Wash the cabbage, divide it into leaves, add salt, pepper and cook in a pot for 10 minutes. Put cabbage leaves on a plate, perch rolls taken out of foil on them.
Vegetable stew
Ingredients:1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 200 g white cabbage, 1 potato, 1 paprika, 100 g small corn, 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, herbs (dill, primrose, celery), salt, pepper to taste.
Instructions.Put finely chopped onion, grated carrot, peeled and chopped tomato in a pan heated with oil. Save lightly. Then add the cabbage and potatoes cut into squares, as well as corn. Stir, add a little water, cover and simmer until done. Five minutes before cooking, 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), and pepper to taste.
Instructions.In a deep baking dish, greased with olive oil, put a mixture of vegetables: finely chopped onion and carrot, cabbage and potatoes cut into squares. Stir, add finely chopped greens, pepper, salt, scrambled eggs. Place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Zucchini rolls with cottage cheese
Ingredients:2 medium zucchini, 1/2 red pepper (no seeds), 1 cucumber, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese, 1 bunch rocket, 1 tbsp. l. olive oil, 1 dl. finely chopped fresh herbs, salt to taste.
Instructions.Wash the zucchini, cut into thin longitudinal strips, lightly fry on both sides in olive oil for 2 minutes on each side (it can be baked in the oven). Mix cottage cheese with herbs, add salt to taste. Peppers and cucumbers cut into thin longitudinal strips. Put some fresh cheese on the end of the zucchini strip. Add a few strips of red pepper, cucumber, arugula leaves, roll up and place on a plate upright.
Cottage cheese casserole with apples
Ingredients:400 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. starch, 1/4 teaspoon. salt, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 2 apples Antonovka.
Instructions.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 mass. Mix everything. Bake in the microwave for 12 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with yogurt, honey or jam.
Curd dessert berries
Ingredients:400 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 100 g of any fresh berries, 2 egg whites, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 12 g gelatin, 1/4 bag vanilla.
Instructions.Soak gelatin in 5-7 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk the egg whites. In vanilla cheese add vanilla, sugar, add whipped proteins. Melt the gelatin over low heat until it melts and add to the curd, whisk. Leave in the fridge for 5 hours. Serve garnished with berries.