Beware the Low Purine Diet -
It Will NOT Get Rid of Gout!
Sad but True. I lived (or at least survived) on a low purine diet for 13 years and STILL had horrible gout attacks one right after another. And you could hardly call it “living” . . . never eating foods that were really truly satisfying, like a big juicy steak.
But now, I NEVER get gout attacks anymore, and I eat pretty much ANYTHING I want!
In the early stages of battling gout it does help to follow a low purine diet until you’ve gotten your gout under control. But restricting yourself to a low-purine-diet alone will NOT completely get rid of your gout. There are many other food choices that contribute to gout, and to really be DONE with gout you gotta think big picture and know the whole story.
Get the low-down on all this in my Kill Your Gout NOW! Handbook —>>>
Low Purine Foods List
Have you noticed that the internet is FULL of conflicting and contradictory information about which foods are low in purines? Yeah, I noticed that too. The following low-purine foods list is based on my personal experience of what has worked for me to totally knock out the gout:
- proteins: eggs, nuts, yogurt and cheese, tofu and tempeh, whey protein powder (for smoothies)
- veggies: all are ok, EXCEPT for asparagus, spinach, mushrooms and cauliflower (celery is especially good for gout)
- fruits: all are OK, and cherries and berries are especially good for gout.
- drinks: mineral or ionized water, green tea, milk, and especially diluted apple cidar vinegar.
Debunk the Myth of the Low Purine Diet
Doesn’t it seem odd that almost every single website (and doctor) out there will point you in the direction of a low purine diet? In fact, there is so much focus on this that you can easily get tunnel vision (and purine fear) and live a life of food-depravation while continuing to suffer with gout.
Here’s my theory about this: The pharmaceutical companies can only make money off us gout guys by creating drugs that tackle the uric-acid element . . . and so they want us all to focus on that. This way when it doesn’t work, you will go back to your doc and beg for more drugs…and they make more money!
Well, no thanks. I lived in fear of purines for 13 years to no avail. And it wasn’t till I backed away from this tunnel vision and started to see the big picture of what REALLY causes gout that I was able to kick it out for good.
Say Goodbye to a Boring Low Purine Diet
Doesn’t the above Low Purine Foods List just make you want to jump up and down with excitement? Yeah, right. Well, take it from me, you do NOT have to confine yourself to a food prison! After 13 years of living in gout hell, now its been many years now since my last gout attack and I eat all the good stuff…lobster, steak, wine, etc.
Yes, I eat these things in moderation, not loading up on them every single night, but the point is I can really ENJOY these foods because I have made myself “gout-proof” and I know that they will not trigger a gout attack for me.
You too can make your self “gout-proof” and once again enjoy ANY food without fear.
I recommend that you go ahead and follow a low purine diet to get you started, but do yourself a favor and get my Kill Your Gout NOW! Handbook today. It will give you the big-picture about how to COMPLETELY conquer the gout beast . . . so you can get back to real living and eating anything you want without the risk of triggering a gout attack.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Bert,
great article.
I wonder why I don’t read the good news of the bitter melon(kerala) in your low purine articles.
Can you please get me the purine level of this great vege compared to spinach for example.
Hope to hear from you soon.
best regards,
Hi Regie – I’m glad you liked the post and thanks for bringing up “kerala” . . . or “karela” . . . ? I went digging around and found that Kerala is state in India and Karela is a bitter gourd or melon grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.
This is what I found . . . and I found it fascinating!
“Karela is used in Ayurveda for as digestive, carminative, antihelminthic, anti-inflammatory and as blood purifier. It is known for controlling obesity, lipids and blood sugar. Through recent researches it is proved that Bitter melon helps in controlling Diabetes, Psoriasis. The blood lowering action of the fresh juice of the unripe bitter melon has been confirmed in scientific studies in animals and humans. Charantin is more powerful than the drug tolbutamide, which is sometimes used in the treatment of diabetes to lower the blood sugar levels. The ripe fruit of bitter melon has been shown to exhibit some remarkable anticancer effects, especially leukemia. Karela has excellent properties of blood purification, detoxification, improving immunity and thus protects heart, brain, liver, kidney and other vital organs of body.” from: http://sawaal.ibibo.com/alternative-medicine/medicinal-properties-uses-bitter-gourd-karela-634989.html
If karela does what it says in that last sentence it’s sounds like a really good thing that could help improve health in a way that would be a real “gout killer”! However, I did not find anything that showed the purine content – SORRY!
But . . . here’s what I want to reiterate: most of the protein foods are the ones high in purines in the first place – meat & beans – it goes down from there. It’s always interesting that everyone suddenly starts thinking about what they need to eat or don’t eat when gout comes roaring in. As far as foods go, what you really need to watch out for and AVOID is processed foods, fast foods – all the crap that comes in box, bag, can, or bottle. AND . . . most restaurant foods come in the back door of the building in one of those forms – SO! STOP EATING OUT SO DAMN MUCH!
If you bought good organically grown grass-fed beef, ate 4oz of it medium-rare with a HUGE pile of vegetables (karela! and others!) you would most likely be fine for not getting gout.
I’m loving the sound of this karela stuff – thanks for bringing it to my attention . . . I don’t know where I’m going to get it but I’ll figure it out.
By the way, where do you live that you get karela and love it so much?
Thx,
Bert