Pass the Yogurt
March 11, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research suggests you say no to meat and yes to low-fat dairy if you want to avoid gout.
The study showed diets rich in dairy products and low in beef, pork, lamb and seafood may help protect against this painful condition. Gout results when too much uric acid builds up in the connective tissue and causes inflammatory arthritis.
The problem lies in the high purine content of many meats and seafood, report researchers in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors have long suspected a link between purine-rich foods and gout, because uric acid is formed when purines break down in the body. But this is the first time investigators have actually found a definite link.
Results showed eating a lot of meat significantly raised the risk for men to develop the condition. Eating a lot of seafood made matters even worse. But men who ate high quantities of dairy products appeared to be protected from the disease.
Surprisingly, researchers say diets high in vegetables containing purine – such as peas, beans, mushrooms, cauliflower and spinach -- did not affect the incidence of gout.
So, if that carton of yogurt didn’t fill you up, pass up the steak and have some veggies instead.
SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, 2004;352:1093-11
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