Can gout patients eat tofu?

When I eat out, I often hear people at the same table tell me that they don’t eat tofu.

I asked "Why?"

The other person replied: I have gout and the doctor said I can't eat beans.

Last year, I was invited to teach the "Health Manager" training course in various towns and streets in Dongguan City. When talking about the nutrition of beans and bean products, a student raised his hand and said, "My family has gout and the doctor said they can't eat beans."

In the WeChat group "Dongguan Drinks and Foods" of Dongguan Radio, some group members also said: Although tofu is rich in nutrients, the doctor said it cannot be eaten!

So, can gout patients eat beans? Can they eat tofu?

Don’t worry, let us first understand the principles of nutritional treatment for gout.

Nutritional therapy goals

By restricting purine diet and adopting a low-energy, low-fat and low-protein diet, the blood uric acid level can be lowered and the excretion of uric acid can be increased, thereby preventing acute attacks of gout and relieving the symptoms of gout attacks.

Principles of nutritional therapy

01Limit dietary purines.

Adopt a low-purine diet and control purine intake. During acute arthritis attacks, dietary purine intake must be strictly limited to less than 150 mg/day.

Especially in the first three days of an acute attack, you should choose foods that contain little or no purine, and then increase them appropriately after the condition improves.

02

The total energy of the diet should be controlled.

The general daily energy intake is 0.10-0.13MJ/kg (25~30kcal/kg), of which protein is 0.8~1.0g/(kg.d), and fat should not be too high, about 50g/day.

Carbohydrates, as the main source of energy, should account for 50% to 60% of energy.

If a gout patient is obese, he or she should lose weight gradually and avoid losing weight too quickly. Otherwise, the body will easily produce a large amount of ketone bodies, which will compete with uric acid and inhibit excretion, thereby increasing blood uric acid levels and causing an acute attack of gout.

03 Choose more vegetarian food.

The solubility of uric acid in urine is related to pH. As the pH increases, the solubility of uric acid increases, promoting excretion. Therefore, it is recommended to consume more alkaline foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, nuts, seaweed, watermelon, winter melon, etc.

04Develop good living habits.

Drink more than 2500mL of water every day, avoid drinking alcohol and alcoholic beverages; eat less irritating condiments. Overeating or eating a large amount of meat at one time is often a trigger for acute attacks of gouty arthritis. Eat regularly and quantitatively, and eat small and frequent meals; exercise appropriately every day and pay attention to the combination of work and rest.

05Others.

It is not advisable to take drugs that affect uric acid excretion, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B12, niacin, etc.

To sum up in one sentence: Gout patients should drink more water, eat more vegetables, not drink alcohol, and eat less meat.

Foods are generally divided into three categories based on their purine content.

●The first category of low-purine foods, 100g of food contains less than 50mg of purine;

● The second category is medium-purine foods, 100g of food contains 50~150mg of purine;

●The third category is high-purine foods, 100g of food contains 150~1000mg of purine.

Gout patients should eat more low-purine foods, less medium-purine foods, and no high-purine foods.

Soybeans, mung beans, red beans, pinto beans, peas, navy beans, green beans, string beans, black beans, etc. belong to the second category of medium-purine foods.

Before making tofu, soybeans need to be soaked and then the soaking water is poured out. A large amount of water-soluble purine is removed, so tofu does not contain high purine content and is a low-purine food . See the picture below for details.

Wei Liping, director of the Nutrition Department of the Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Southern Medical University, associate chief physician, professor, and editor-in-chief of Guangdong Province's "Public Nutritionist" textbook, has repeatedly told doctors and experts that tofu is a typical low-purine food and is very suitable for people with high uric acid levels.

Beans are medium-purine foods, and tofu is a low-purine food, so gout patients can eat tofu with confidence!

Author: Zhai Mingqian | Member of Chinese Nutrition Society

Reviewer Fang Aiping | Associate Professor, School of Public Health

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Source: China Good Nutrition

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