Low Purine Diet Tips

Purines are a group of aromatic organic compounds, which contain two fused rings of carbon and nitrogen atoms. They are one of the most widely distributed nitrogen containing heterocycle (organic compound containing at least one atom of carbon) in nature. Human body produces purine naturally. It is one of the two classes of bases in nucleic acids. In general, purine includes any of the bases that are derivatives of purine. Some of the important purines other than the bases of nucleic acids are adenosine, uric acid, caffeine, theophylline and theobromine. Purine is also an important component of many of the biomolecules.

Purine plays an important role in body metabolism such as cellular signaling process, energy metabolism, translation, and disposal mechanism. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant. Overproduction or deficiency of purine causes certain purine metabolic diseases such as gout, xanthinuria and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency, lesch-nyhan syndrome, adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency, 5' nucleotidase defect, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency, myoadenylate deaminase deficiency and so on.

Low Purine Diet

Among the various purine metabolic diseases, gout or hyperuricemia is one of the most common diseases caused by overproduction of uric acid. It is characterized by high level of uric acid in blood. Excess uric acid is also deposited as uric acid crystals in joints, resulting in swelling and inflammation. Thus, patient of gout suffers from severe joint pain. Treatment of gout is done by limiting purine-rich diets and other medication. Maintaining body weight and regular exercise also help in gout treatment. Let's see some of the tips on low purine diets, which will help you in planning your diet.

Diet should include ample amounts of fruits and fruit juices. In addition, one should drink plenty of water so as to help the body in flushing out excess uric acid. This will also prevent further formation of uric acid crystals and/or stones.

Vegetables such as cauliflower, mushrooms, asparagus, green peas, spinach and beans are moderately rich in purine. So, consumption of these vegetables should be limited. However, there is no relevant data available about these vegetables, whether they affect purine metabolism or not. Other green vegetables and tomatoes have relatively low purine content.

Red meat (meat obtained from mammals) such as beef, pork and lamb are a rich source of purine. Meat from certain parts such as kidney and liver is extremely high in purine. Thus, red meat and organ meat should be avoided as far as possible. Poultry to a certain limit is safe to include in diet.

Dark berries are beneficial since they contain chemicals that reduce uric acid. Tofu (fermented soybean) is found to be very effective in lowering uric acid. Milk and milk products such as cheese and butter have low content of purine. Also nuts, corn, cornbread, tapioca, white bread, noodles, ice cream, chocolate, tea and coffee are safe to consume in this regard.

Seafood especially fish such as oysters, mackerels, salmons, sardines, clams and herrings should be avoided, as they have high purine content. Seafood other than these is safe to include in the diet but care should be taken not to overconsume them. Fish eggs (roe) are also rich in purine and should be avoided.

Diet should not contain beer and other alcoholic beverages, which are produced by yeast fermentation since they are very rich source of purine. Consumption of alcoholic beverages increases frequency of gout attacks.

Studies have been done on diets for gout (painful arthritis attack). Researchers have found out that a balanced diet should include complex carbohydrate foods such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Protein content should be low, around 15% calories and should be from selected food items like poultry and soybean. The total calorie amount from fats should be as low as 30%. It is always recommended to consult your physician and dietitian before following any diet plan.