Advice for gout: more dairy, less meat and seafood

Because gout is marked by the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints, doctors have generally advised patients at risk of the painful condition to avoid animal products and those vegetables rich in purines. That chemical is broken down by the body into uric acid.

Now a study has pinpointed the risky foods and exonerated others.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston monitored the eating habits of 47,150 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (a national study of men in health professions) who didn’t have any signs of gout when the research began. After 12 years, 730 of the men developed gout.

The team found that in moderate amounts, many purine-rich foods, such as peas, beans, mushrooms, spinach and cauliflower, did not boost the risk of developing gout. Dairy proteins, especially from low-fat dairy products, appear to reduce levels of uric acid in the blood and can be strongly protective.

A diet rich in seafood and red meats such as beef, pork and lamb, but low in dairy products, increases the risk, the researchers said.

The disorder, which often occurs in the feet and ankles, affects about 5 million Americans. Repeated attacks can cause permanent damage.

The findings appear in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

-- Jane E. Allen