alkaline diet Tag

However, my nutrition tables have been added in a piecemeal fashion over the years, and fall short of the comprehensive guide to improving diet for gout sufferers that I wish to present. During my current phase of reorganizing and improving this gouty arthritis website, I will start the process of providing better gout diet information. This is a long-term project, that will start with some simplified tables over the next week or so, and end with a separate website for analyzing and monitoring your complete gout diet.

Diet For Gout Sufferers: New Food Tables

My new food tables will condense data from existing PRAL and purine tables, and add some much-needed data on iron content. For now, I will retain the split by USDA food group, but part of my gout diet project will be to provide better grouping, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper or meat & fish, fruit & veg etc.

You can see the list of tables below, but first let me explain some key points about using the tables.

• The tables are still based on nutrition values per 100g. This does not suit many foods such as condiments, sweeteners, etc, but it is fairly easy to divide the table values for smaller portions, or multiply them for larger portions.
• The tables present exact values, but seasonal variations and cooking methods will cause the values to change, so treat the numbers as a guideline, not a precise measuring tool.
• I will move the existing tables to a new website, which will become the focus for new nutrition tools. I will be heavily influenced by your feedback and your interest in these new tools, so please support my new food diary project.
• The tables work best when used to analyze your existing diet and to help choose between two or more food choices. They should not be used to find foods to avoid, or to find foods to eat exclusively. This can lead to a very restricted food range, which is not usually good for you, as it can lead to a shortage of some essential nutrients. You should read Sensible Gout Diet Restrictions before looking at any of these food tables.

Click to read important nutrition values for gout diets

Myth 1: Alkaline Foods Turn Red Litmus Blue

Alkaline Foods Image

Despite my best efforts to explain otherwise, people still believe that you can measure the power of alkaline foods by testing their pH. There are even lists of alkaline foods touted round the Internet that show the pH value for common foods. But these have nothing to do with the alkalizing effect, so why do they exist?

They stem from a US government table of pH values produced for the canning industry. Whilst they might help food packagers determine what balancing agents they need to avoid food reacting with it’s container, these values have absolutely nothing to do with the effect of food on our bodies.

The science of alkaline foods recognizes that elements and compounds in food cause different reactions in our body when digested. Some elements, e.g. proteins and phosphorous produce acidic salts. Other elements, e.g. potassium, magnesium and calcium, produce alkaline salts. These salts end up at our kidneys, where they alter the pH environment. This process has resulted in the Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) calculation, which is an approximate estimate of the effect of foods on the acidity/alkalinity of our bodies. Or more specifically, of urine, as this is the measurable result.

Still, people remain confused as to how an acidic food item, like lemons or vinegar, can have an alkalizing effect on urine and the kidneys. As I explained recently: Read the rest of Alkaline Foods: More Myths Exposed