Foods High in Uric Acid

Dietitians and nutritionists commonly measure foods high in uric acid by measuring the total purine content of food.

I have produced a table below that lists foods high in uric acid first with purine concentration reducing as you move down the list.
Many advisers tell gout sufferers to avoid anything over 400mg and restrict foods in the 100-400mg range, but you should treat this advice with caution.

Firstly, you must realize that typical portion sizes vary enormously.
The top of the list of foods high in uric acid is Theobromine.
This is commonly found in chocolate and other cocoa products, but to get 100g you need to eat 10 to 100 kilos (i.e. well over 20 pounds of even the richest chocolate).

Secondly, the effect of foods high in uric acid depends on direct absorption through the digestive tract. Most uric acid derives from the breakdown of your cells as part of normal metabolism. The overall contribution of foods high in uric acid is debatable - figures of between 5% and 15% are common.

Purines Warning

Please be careful about getting obsessed with the purine content of food. Though purines in food can have a slight effect on uric acid, there are many other factors to consider.

Foods High In Uric Acid Table

You should use the information in the table below only as a guideline. Many other factors, besides foods high in uric acid, affect the risk of gout attacks.
If you do feel that it is important to manage foods high in uric acid, then you should measure your total intake. Multiply the weight of your food (in grams) by the value from the table and divide this by 100 to give your uric acid intake in milligrams. In this way you can calculate a total intake from the list of foods high in uric acid for every meal. You need to find the level that you can tolerate best by trial and error.

Foods High in Uric Acid
Food	Purines (Uric Acid mg/100g)
Theobromine	2300
Yeast, Brewer's	1810
Neck sweet bread, Calf's	1260
Sprat, smoked	804
Sheep's spleen	773
Yeast, Baker's	680
Ox liver	554
Pig's heart	530
Pig's spleen	516
Pig's liver	515
Mushroom, flat, edible Boletus, dried	488
Fish, sardines in oil	480
Liver, Calf's	460
Ox spleen	444
Pig's lungs (lights)	434
Ox lungs (lights)	399
Fish, sardine, pilchard	345
Spleen, Calf's	343
Pig's kidney	334
Fish, trout	297
Fish, Tuna in oil	290
Ox kidney	269
Fish, Tuna	257
Ox heart	256
Liver, chicken	243
Fish, Redfish (ocean perch)	241
Heart, Sheep's	241
Fish, Anchovy	239
Black gram (mungo bean), seed, dry	222
Fish, Herring, Matje cured	219
Kidney, Calf's	218
Fish, Herring, Atlantic	210
Horse meat	200
Bean, Soya, seed, dry	190
Fish, Herring roe	190
Lamb (muscles only)	182
Fish, Halibut	178
Chicken (breast with skin)	175
Veal, muscles only	172
Fish, salmon	170
Poppy seed, seed, dry	170
Pork muscles only	166
Goose	165
Sausage, liver (liverwurst)	165
Fish, Saithe (coalfish)	163
Fish, Carp	160
Ox tongue	160
Pork leg (hind leg)	160
Chicken, boiling fowl, average	159
Pork fillet	150
Pork shoulder with skin (blade of shoulder)	150
Turkey, young animal, average, with skin	150
Veal knuckle with bone	150
Veal, leg of veal with bone	150
Veal, neck with bone	150
Lungs, Calf's	147
Shrimp, brown	147
Fish, Mackerel	145
Pork chop with bone	145
Caviar (real)	144
Sunflower seed, dry	143
Pike	140
Pork chuck	140
Veal chop, cutlet with bone	140
Veal fillet	140
Veal, shoulder	140
Fish, Haddock	139
Duck, average	138
Venison haunch (leg)	138
Pig's tongue	136
Scallop	136
Beef, muscles only	133
Rabbit meat, average with bone	132
Fish, Sole	131
Ham, cooked	131
Bean, seed, white, dry	128
Lentil, seed, dry	127
Pork belly, raw, smoked dried	127
Beef, chuck	120
Beef, fore rib, entrecote	120
Pork hip bone (hind leg)	120
Lobster	118
Chicken (chicken for roasting), average	115
Mussel	112
Sausage "Jagdwurst"	112
Beef, fillet	110
Beef, roast beef, sirloin	110
Beef, shoulder	110
Chicken, leg with skin, without bone	110
Fish, Pike-perch	110
Fish, Cod	109
Peas, chick (garbanzo), seed, dry	109
Grape, dried, raisin, sultana	107
Linseed	105
Rabbit/Hare (average)	105
Venison back	105
Sausage salami, German	104
Sausages, frying, from pork	101
Pork belly	100
Barley without husk, whole grain	96
Sausage "Mortadella"	96
Pea, seed, dry	95
Oats, without husk, whole grain	94
Plaice	93
Brain, Calf's	92
Mushroom, flat, edible Boletus, cep	92
Sausages, frying, from veal	91
Oyster	90
Frankfurter sausages	89
Sausage "Bierschincken"	85
Pea, pod and seed, green	84
Pig's brain	83
Broccoli	81
Bean sprouts, Soya	80
Tench	80
Nuts, peanut	79
Artichoke	78
Fish, eel (smoked)	78
Sausage "Fleischwurst"	78
Sausage, Vienna	78
Ox brain	75
Leek	74
Sausages, German (Mettwurst)	74
Apricot	73
Sausage "Munich Weisswurst"	73
Cocoa powder, oil partially removed, not including theobromine	71
Grass, Viper's (black salsify)	71
Meat, luncheon	70
Brussel sprouts	69
Tofu	68
Chives	67
Fig (dried)	64
Plum, dried	64
Millet, shucked corn	62
Sesame (gingelly) seed, Oriental, dry	62
Fish, Crayfish	60
Crispbread	60
Mushroom	58
Banana	57
Beef, corned (German)	57
Parsley, leaf	57
Spinach	57
Peppers, green	55
Pudding, black	55
Corn, sweet	52
Cauliflower	51
Rye, whole grain	51
Wheat, whole grain	51
Oyster, mushroom	50
Kale	48
Beans, French, dried	45
Pumpkin	44
Pasta made with egg (noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, etc.	40
Lettuce, Lamb's	38
Almond, sweet	37
Beans, French (string beans, haricot)	37
Cabbage, savoy	37
Nuts, hazelnut (cobnut)	37
Date, dried	35
Elderberry, black	33
Melon, Cantelope	33
Cabbage, red	32
Cheese, Limburger, 20% fat content in dry matter	32
Celeriac	30
Morel	30
Quince	30
Bamboo Shoots	29
Mushrooms, canned, solid and liquid	29
Olive, green, marinated	29
Cress	28
Grape	27
Kohlrabi	25
Nuts, Walnut	25
Plum	24
Squash, summer	24
Asparagus	23
Nuts, Brazil	23
Bilberry, blueberry, huckleberry	22
Cabbage, white	22
Aubergine	21
Chinese leaves	21
Peach	21
Rolls, bread	21
Strawberry	21
Avocado	19
Beet root	19
Kiwi fruit (Chinese gooseberry, strawberry peach)	19
Orange	19
Pineapple	19
Caviar substitute	18
Potato, cooked with skin	18
Raspberry	18
Carrot	17
Cherry, Morello	17
Currant, red	17
Endive	17
Mushrooms, Chanterelle	17
Mushrooms, Chanterelles, canned, solids & liquids	17
Gooseberry	16
Potato	16
Sauerkraut, dripped off	16
Radish	15
Apple	14
Beer, real, light	14
Bread, wheat (flour) or (white bread)	14
Fennel leaves	14
Beer, Pilsner lager beer, regular beer, German	13
Lettuce	13
Onion	13
Radishes	13
Chicory	12
Pear	12
Rhubarb	12
Tomato	11
Cheese, cottage	9.4
Beer, alcohol free	8.1
Yogurt, min. 3.5% fat content	8.1
Cucumber	7.3
Cheese, Brie	7.1
Cheese, edam, 30% fat content in dry matter	7.1
Cheese, edam, 40% fat content in dry matter	7.1
Cheese, edam, 45% fat content in dry matter	7.1
Cherry, sweet	7.1
Cheese, Cheddar/Cheshire cheese, 50% fat content in dry matter	6

I took the data in this table from Food Composition and Nutrition Tables by Souci, Fachmann, Kraut. Their notes for the purine data states

Purines

The total of free and bound compounds is given for each component. The "total purines" column contains the total of all individual components calculated as uric acid.
The exact calculation of this is beyond the scope of this article, but you can easily see the relative purine count in the table. Remember, the table of foods high in uric acid shows the number of milligrams per 100 grams, so intake will depend on portion size.

GoutPal warns against taking these types of analysis too seriously. Firstly, recent research indicates that vegetable purines do not increase the risk of gout, and dairy foods can actually reduce it. More importantly, people digest foods differently - a food that causes gout in one person might be tolerated by another, and different food combinations have significantly different effects. There is more information about dealing with foods high in uric acid in my diet section.

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Foods High in Uric Acid Page Created: Before 2008 - Last Reviewed: 8^th January 2009