According to MSc.BS Pham Cong Danh - Nutrition - Diet Specialist, Minh Anh International Hospital, the incorrect application of diet inadvertently makes disease control ineffective.
Believing that soft drinks are protein-free so they are harmless
Many people only focus on abstaining from meat and seafood but still drink soft drinks, milk tea or sugary drinks. However, drinks high in added sugar, especially high-fructose corn syrup, can stimulate the body to increase uric acid production, thereby increasing the risk of acute gout attacks.
Therefore, limiting soft drinks and sugary drinks brings significant benefits in controlling uric acid, and is no less important than adjusting the amount of meat and fish in your diet.
Abusing bone broth for nutritious purposes
Many people believe that bone broth is nutritious and suitable for patients. However, during stewing or simmering meat, purines can dissolve into the water, making the broth concentrated and containing quite high levels of purines.
Therefore, people with hyperuricemia or gout should limit the frequent use of bone broth and concentrated broth, especially when the disease has not been controlled stably.
Only abstain from purines but ignore weight control
Another common mistake is to only pay attention to cutting purine-rich foods without paying attention to weight and fat intake.
According to doctors, a diet high in saturated fat, excess energy along with overweight and obesity can increase the risk of insulin resistance, reduce the ability to excrete uric acid through the kidneys, thereby increasing the risk of getting and relapsing gout.
Therefore, in addition to adjusting purine-containing foods, patients need to maintain a reasonable weight, control waist circumference and improve metabolic health.
Believing that beer is "cooler" than alcohol
Many people have a habit of switching from alcohol to beer with the thought that beer has little impact on gout. However, this is not the right concept.
According to MSc.BS Pham Cong Danh, all types of alcoholic beverages can increase uric acid and trigger gout attacks. In particular, beer also increases the risk even more because it both contains alcohol and purine compounds derived from beer yeast, causing the body to increase production and reduce uric acid excretion.
Therefore, people with hyperuricemia or gout should minimize beer as well as alcoholic beverages to reduce the risk of gout attacks.
