Gout is a disease of rheumatic etiology caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in the joints. The clinical manifestations of the disease are pain, deformation of the affected joint, dysfunction and 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. The kidneys are most often affected, which leads to the development of pyelonephritis, kidney failure and other complications. The diagnosis is based on symptoms and is confirmed by a puncture of the affected joint and an X-ray. Treatment includes pharmacotherapy, a special diet, and physical therapy.
The basic principles of the diet
The approximate 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 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 overall well-being, relieve unpleasant symptoms and even increase the duration of periods of remission. Deviation from the diet, 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 a new attack of the disease. That's why you must constantly follow a diet. Proper nutrition during periods of remission and especially exacerbation will help to avoid the development of a number of serious complications.
The patient should always have before his eyes a table of permitted foods, as well as recipes for preparing various dishes. This will help to create an optimal menu based on the individual food preferences of each patient and taking 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 (partial meals). Starving 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 must 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 drinking regime. You should drink at least one and a half liters of fluid per day (up to three liters during periods of exacerbation). In addition to water, compotes, mineral water, weak tea, fruit drinks and rosehip decoction are allowed for consumption. It is better to drink not during meals, but between meals.
Prohibited products
You should follow the diet throughout your life, not just during exacerbations. The diet 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 a diet, you can not only relieve the symptoms of the disease and reduce the frequency of exacerbations, but also normalize weight by reducing the load on the affected joints. The main rule is to exclude foods rich in purines from the diet.
They include:
- cakes and pastries;
- canned foods;
- legumes;
- baking;
- entrails;
- processed meat products (sausages, sausages, etc. );
- oily fish;
- chocolate;
- spicy, salty, smoked, pickled foods;
- fast food;
- 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.
Allowed products
The gout diet is based on the principles of healthy eating, so it is not very 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 meats (rabbit, chicken, turkey);
- eggs (in small quantities);
- fermented milk products;
- vegetable oils (linseed and olive oil are the best options);
- Seafood;
- pasta, cereals;
- low-fat varieties of fish;
- fresh fruits and vegetables that are not on the list of prohibited foods;
- marmalade, pastilla, marshmallows;
- candies without chocolate;
- dried fruits (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 prohibited foods quickly provokes an exacerbation of the disease.
Diet for gout: table #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 from the menu foods rich in purines and salts of oxalic acid;
- 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 alkalizing foods on the table;
- if there are no contraindications (kidney diseases, heart diseases and a number of others), then you should significantly increase the amount of liquid 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 protein;
- if the patient suffers from obesity, then you should reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
The classic standard menu is signed by the attending physician. There may be several meal options. Food should be prepared as usual, food should be at normal temperature. It is recommended to cook fish and meat. Meat and mushroom broths should be drained, as they contain a large amount of purines.
Following such a diet, nutrition normalizes, purine metabolism 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. Joint pain disappears, inflammation decreases, which reduces the likelihood of recurrence of the disease in the future.
important!There is no need to self-medicate. The development of the diet should be done by a specialist. 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 pathologies. For example, if a person, in addition to gout, suffers from obesity, then he may be prescribed diet No. 8, which provides for more serious restrictions.
Diet for gout in men and women during an 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 foods. It is necessary to limit the consumption of fatty meats, fish and poultry as much as possible.
The menu is based on liquid porridges, vegetable soups and fermented milk products. Food is partial. Long breaks between meals, overeating or fasting increase the likelihood of developing an attack of the disease. You can drink compotes, jelly, mineral water, juices, weak tea.
Drinking mode
How much and what kind of water to drink if you have gout? The total amount of liquid should be at least 2 liters per day.
If the patient has a complication in the form of urolithiasis, it is recommended to drink alkalizing 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 with the introduction of a large amount of plant proteins in the diet, with the exception of animal proteins.
Quite often, alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of the disease. That is why you should completely give up alcoholic drinks. Even dry red wine, which is allowed to drink in small doses in other diseases, is forbidden in gout. Sometimes it is enough to drink just a few sips of alcohol for a new attack of the disease to appear. 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 prepare an omelet, baked or steamed, eat 150 grams of vegetable salad and a few slices of bread.
- For lunch, you can prepare vegetable soup, eat boiled or stewed fish with a low fat content.
- For dinner, prepare a vegetable stew with eggplants and zucchini, 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, prepare 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, cereal with carrots and fruits, weak tea with milk.
- Lunch: thin rice soup, cauliflower stewed 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 decoction.
- For lunch, you can cook pureed 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: baked cheesecake 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, sandwiches with cheese, lightly brewed tea.
- Lunch: soup with vegetables and barley, potato cutlets with sour cream.
- Dinner: a piece of lean boiled pork, salad of fresh vegetables, buckwheat porridge.