Great foods for gout-beaters
The worst gout foods are meat and seafood. Actually, the insides of animals are even worse, with sweetbread one of the most purine-rich foods.
There are some vegetables that contain high levels of purines, like shiitake mushrooms and legumes (fancy word for beans). So meat - actually all animal products, whether red meat or not - beans and mushrooms are bad for your gout. And seafood. You also need to avoid products with sugar in them, as they turn to uric acid directly in your liver. The good news is that almost everything else is good for you. Both for your gout and otherwise.
You need to eat balanced meals, but the balance is different from what you may have learned. Instead of a third protein, a third carbohydrates, and a third vegetables, you now need to think one fifth or less meat or seafood, three fifths vegetables, and one fifth carbohydrates like rice or potatoes. If this is your first gout attack, you should skip the protein part and only eat vegetables and carbohydrates for at least two weeks. You will not die from it, your body has all the proteins and fat it needs to use for several weeks stored.
There are some vegetables that contain high levels of purines, like shiitake mushrooms and legumes (fancy word for beans). So meat - actually all animal products, whether red meat or not - beans and mushrooms are bad for your gout. And seafood. You also need to avoid products with sugar in them, as they turn to uric acid directly in your liver. The good news is that almost everything else is good for you. Both for your gout and otherwise.
You need to eat balanced meals, but the balance is different from what you may have learned. Instead of a third protein, a third carbohydrates, and a third vegetables, you now need to think one fifth or less meat or seafood, three fifths vegetables, and one fifth carbohydrates like rice or potatoes. If this is your first gout attack, you should skip the protein part and only eat vegetables and carbohydrates for at least two weeks. You will not die from it, your body has all the proteins and fat it needs to use for several weeks stored.
NOT ALL PROTEINS ARE MEAT
You need to start your diet after an attack by removing purines drom your diet. Dropping meat is a start, but you also need to drop beans and shiitake mushrooms from your diet. Those vegetables are rich in purines. But the good news is that tofu is low in purines, even though it is made from beans. Maybe it has something to do with the manufacturing process.
Cheese and cows milk (and other mammal mlks, such as sheep and goats milk) is also very protein rich and purine-free. That means it is perfect for making your dishes more interesting.
Cheese and cows milk (and other mammal mlks, such as sheep and goats milk) is also very protein rich and purine-free. That means it is perfect for making your dishes more interesting.
MAKING CHEESE FUN
Cheese is going to be a major source of proteins when you change diet to avoid gout attacks. And even if you live in a place where cheese means something homogenous in large yellowish slabs tasting vaugely like real cheese, it works well in cooking. Do not worry about extra fat, your body will be too busy to put it on your waistline.
Drinking milk can help lower the level of uric acid in your blood, and so can eating cheese. Just sprinkle it over vegetables and bake them in the oven. Or make a stew by stirring flour into butter as it melts on medium heat, then adding milk and working it in as the stew thickens, about 5 cc at the time. Mix in cheese and add vegetables, letting them boil slowly into the stew. If you want to speed it up or am adding frozen vegetables, microwave them first.
Eat the cheese sauce as it is, or pour over pasta or rice. Especially good with brown rice if you use a cheese with strong taste, like blue cheese.
Drinking milk can help lower the level of uric acid in your blood, and so can eating cheese. Just sprinkle it over vegetables and bake them in the oven. Or make a stew by stirring flour into butter as it melts on medium heat, then adding milk and working it in as the stew thickens, about 5 cc at the time. Mix in cheese and add vegetables, letting them boil slowly into the stew. If you want to speed it up or am adding frozen vegetables, microwave them first.
Eat the cheese sauce as it is, or pour over pasta or rice. Especially good with brown rice if you use a cheese with strong taste, like blue cheese.
One easy way of making gout-friendly food and recycle leftovera at the same tome is to gratinate them. And the easiest way is to cheese-gratinate them. I took the leftovers from my root vegetable stew, split the biggest pieces, added a couple of slices of cheese on top, and put it in the microwave. First I heated it up and then run it on high heat for a minute to make sure the cheese melted. Then stir and serve, but remember that melted cheese is very hot.
PROTEINS WITHOUT PURINES
When you have to skip all meat from your diet, you may wonder what to do about protein. There are two main sources. Tofu, which though it is made from beans does not contain any purines (they get filtered out in the production process). If you think the taste is bland, mix it in a salad, or eat it with soy sauce and finely chopped onion.
You may also try using whey powder in cooking, if you are worried about getting too little protein and want to avoid purines. Milk does not contain any DNA or cells (living or dead), so there are no purines which can turn into uric acid in your body. There is lactose in milk, however, which your body turns into glucose and which becomes uric acid. Whey can contain lactose but the manufacturers usually purify the proteins, which then becomes known as whey isolate, turning it to a perfect protein supplement for people with gout.
You may also try using whey powder in cooking, if you are worried about getting too little protein and want to avoid purines. Milk does not contain any DNA or cells (living or dead), so there are no purines which can turn into uric acid in your body. There is lactose in milk, however, which your body turns into glucose and which becomes uric acid. Whey can contain lactose but the manufacturers usually purify the proteins, which then becomes known as whey isolate, turning it to a perfect protein supplement for people with gout.
THE ALKALINE URINE DIET
To avoid the formation of new gout crystals you need to eat a low-purine diet. And it is an advantage if your dishes include milk, because of the orotic acid that binds to the uric acid. Besides that, you should avoid cranberries and orange juice, on top of avoiding red meat as you already do.
The reason is to make your urine more alkaline, and the reason behind that is that uric acid dissolves better in alkalic than acidic urine. If you eat a lot of cranberries you may kill off a lot of the bacteria in your urinary tract that could cause an infection, but your urine turns more acidic which means uric acid dissolves less well.
You can check for yourself using the little paper strips that change color with acidity or alkalinity. The neutral value is seven, which means a greenish beige color on most test strips. A lower value is more reddish on the test strip and more acidic, a higher value more green and alkaline. As with all medical samples however it can be quite complicated to
do it right - you have to assure absolute cleanliness and make sure your sample is free from contamination.
The reason is to make your urine more alkaline, and the reason behind that is that uric acid dissolves better in alkalic than acidic urine. If you eat a lot of cranberries you may kill off a lot of the bacteria in your urinary tract that could cause an infection, but your urine turns more acidic which means uric acid dissolves less well.
You can check for yourself using the little paper strips that change color with acidity or alkalinity. The neutral value is seven, which means a greenish beige color on most test strips. A lower value is more reddish on the test strip and more acidic, a higher value more green and alkaline. As with all medical samples however it can be quite complicated to
do it right - you have to assure absolute cleanliness and make sure your sample is free from contamination.
ENJOY YOUR VEGETABLES
Vegetables are good for gout sufferers in many ways. With the exception of beans and shiitake mushrooms, they should be the centerpiece of any
goutbeaters diet. So how do you make them taste good?
If you have never eaten much vegetables and need to change, you know how hard old habits can be to break. So start with something you know how to cook, like mashed potatoes with sausages and gravy. Take the mashed potatoes, make like a pie form in a pan, and fill it with gravy and some fake meat - soy meat with a little soy sauce works fine. Add some chopped onions and make a lid out of mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven until golden brown. You have just made a sem
Or take the mashed potatoes, mix in cauliflower like president Trumps doctor, and bake in the oven. With or without cheese, which you can mix in the mash or spread on top. If you want a different version, substitute the cauliflower for broccoli. Or chopped cabbage, or pumpkins for a bit of halloween feeling. Or chopped onions. If you want even more variation, make the mash thick, roll in bread crumbs, and deep-fry to make Japanese-style croquettes.
goutbeaters diet. So how do you make them taste good?
If you have never eaten much vegetables and need to change, you know how hard old habits can be to break. So start with something you know how to cook, like mashed potatoes with sausages and gravy. Take the mashed potatoes, make like a pie form in a pan, and fill it with gravy and some fake meat - soy meat with a little soy sauce works fine. Add some chopped onions and make a lid out of mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven until golden brown. You have just made a sem
Or take the mashed potatoes, mix in cauliflower like president Trumps doctor, and bake in the oven. With or without cheese, which you can mix in the mash or spread on top. If you want a different version, substitute the cauliflower for broccoli. Or chopped cabbage, or pumpkins for a bit of halloween feeling. Or chopped onions. If you want even more variation, make the mash thick, roll in bread crumbs, and deep-fry to make Japanese-style croquettes.
VEGETABLE ALARM CHILI
As an example on what you can do without meat, here is my "vegetable alarm chili", which does not contain either purines or any significant amounts of sugar. I made it as an experiment when the vegetables were in season.
Ingredients:
5 big carrots
2 sweet potatoes
1/4 pumpkin (small but not decoration)
1 onion
1/3 bottle of barbecue sauce
1/3 can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of soy sauce
100 g of fake meat (I used a kind made from tofu)
1 cup of water
Chilli powder
How to cook:
Marinate the fake meat in the soy sauce.
Dice all the vegetables (1/2 cm side) and put in a large pot. Add tomato sauce and barbecue sauce, and half a cup of water. Let it simmer under a tight lid for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until all the vegetables are soft. Put in the fake meat and simmer until there is hardly any liquid left. Add chili powder to taste.
If you want to add beans, add a can or two of them now. Cook until well integrated.
Ingredients:
5 big carrots
2 sweet potatoes
1/4 pumpkin (small but not decoration)
1 onion
1/3 bottle of barbecue sauce
1/3 can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of soy sauce
100 g of fake meat (I used a kind made from tofu)
1 cup of water
Chilli powder
How to cook:
Marinate the fake meat in the soy sauce.
Dice all the vegetables (1/2 cm side) and put in a large pot. Add tomato sauce and barbecue sauce, and half a cup of water. Let it simmer under a tight lid for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until all the vegetables are soft. Put in the fake meat and simmer until there is hardly any liquid left. Add chili powder to taste.
If you want to add beans, add a can or two of them now. Cook until well integrated.
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