Under normal circumstances, the purines you find in many foods are broken down into uric acid, and the body gets rid of it without any problems.

However, for someone with gout, getting rid of this uric acid is problematic, and the result is painful crystals forming in the joints – leading to gout pain. When this happens, there are medications that can help with the pain, but one of the best things a person can do it to is to find low purine foods and make them a major part of their diet. This can offer much-needed relief for most.

There are some general directions for a low purine diet, but always listen to your doctor’s advice in addition to this information. A low purine diet is going to contain almost fifty percent carbohydrates each day, and no more than thirty percent of the diet each day should be made up of fats. The rest should be healthy and lower purine protein sources.

Drinks that are normally not allowed on many special diets are actually encouraged. These include soda and coffee. The reason being as that they act as directics, helping your body to flush out the excess uric acid. It’s important to drink plenty of water as well to keep your body well hydrated. Alcohol, however, in most forms is not something you should be drinking.

When looking for low purine foods for your diet, you can find a great variety of things you can have that won’t cause any issues with your gout. If you love thick soups, you can have them as long as they are made with low fat milk. Cheese and milk are fine, but again, they should be low in fat. You can also enjoy things like gelatin and a great variety of fruits and fruit juices. Most sweets are just fine, but remember to watch the calories if you are attempting to get your weight down. You can also enjoy things like pasta, and peanut butter is okay for a treat.

When choosing your low purine foods, you can have some medium purine rated foods with them about once a day if it does not bother you. Those would include some meats like beef, pork, and possibly chicken. Some seafood choices are relatively safe as well. You should experiment to find what bothers you and what works out well. As long as you work at limiting the purines, you are going to feel much better each day. You might want to have lobster bisque on occasion, as long as you limit your portions, and don’t have any other medium purine foods for the rest of the day.

You may have a hard time finding new foods to eat at first, but after a while you will get used to reading labels and figuring out what works for you and what does not. Any special diet requires a little thought and work, and the low purine foods diet is no exception. After a while though, reading and deciphering items in the store by reading through the ingredients list will become second nature, and you will become accustomed to knowing how to build your own menu with little thought. Feeling better should be all the motivation you need.

Looking for some inspiration? The Gout Haters Cookbooks series by Jodi Schneiter are just what you need. Jodi has written three cookbooks that focus on creating delicious meals suitable for all the family that fit in with a low purine diet. 

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