Gout is a type of arthritis that causes sudden, severe joint pain. It is caused by having too much uric acid in the blood, which can lead to crystals forming around the joints (NHS). Food is one part of keeping attacks away, and the NHS notes your doctor may give you a list of foods to include or limit. It also says uric acid-lowering medicine should be taken regularly, even when you no longer have symptoms, so no shopping list replaces treatment.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have gout, follow the food list and treatment your own doctor gives you.
What the gout guidelines say about food
The 2020 American College of Rheumatology guideline conditionally recommends that people with gout limit alcohol, limit purine intake and limit high-fructose corn syrup, and that those who are overweight follow a weight-loss programme (FitzGerald et al., 2020). It rated the evidence behind each of these as low or very low certainty. The same guideline looked at cherries, cherry extract and dairy protein and found the evidence too weak to make any specific recommendation.
The NHS gout page gives the everyday version: have some alcohol-free days each week and no more than 14 units a week, drink plenty of fluids, lose weight if you are overweight but avoid crash diets, and do not have lots of sugary drinks and snacks.
Limit purine-rich meat and seafood
In a case-crossover study of 633 people with gout, those in the highest fifth of purine intake over a 2-day period had 4.76 times the odds of a gout attack compared with the lowest fifth (Zhang et al., 2012). The researchers' high-purine list included meats, organ meats, meat extracts and gravies and seafood, but also beans, peas, lentils, spinach, mushrooms and beer. Purine from animal sources carried the higher risk, and they concluded that cutting back on purine-rich foods, especially of animal origin, may help reduce attacks.
Legumes being on that list does not take them off the menu. The same authors wrote that plant-derived foods, especially nuts and legumes, should be the preferred protein sources for people with gout.
Watch sugary drinks, juice and fructose
A 12-year study of 46,393 men with no history of gout found 755 new cases (Choi and Curhan, 2008). Compared with less than one sugar-sweetened soft drink a month, two or more a day carried a relative risk of 1.85. Diet soft drinks were not linked to gout. Total fruit juice and fructose-rich fruits such as apples and oranges were also linked with a higher risk.
Flip packaged drinks and snacks over and read the ingredients list. High-fructose corn syrup is the sweetener the ACR guideline names.
Where dates fit on a gout food list
Dates are a sweet fruit with plenty of fructose. USDA FoodData Central lists 32.0 g of fructose per 100 g of Medjool dates and 19.6 g per 100 g of Deglet Noor dates, so a 30 g portion of Medjool carries about 9.6 g. None of the studies above tested dates on their own, so there is no evidence here that dates trigger gout or prevent it.
The practical answer is portion and timing. The NHS 5 A Day page counts a 30 g portion of dried fruit, dates included, as one of your 5 A Day, but says it should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth (NHS). Put a few dates on the plate with a meal and count them with your other fruit and any juice that day.
If you like a softer, richer date, our page on Medjool dates from Palestine covers how they look and eat. Deglet Noor, from Tunisia and Algeria, has the lower fructose figure of the two.
A gout-friendly shopping list
Build the trolley around nuts, legumes and vegetables, with meat and seafood in smaller amounts. Keep water within reach, since the NHS lists dehydration as a trigger for attacks. On vitamin C the two sources differ: the NHS says to ask a GP about vitamin C supplements, while the ACR guideline conditionally recommends against adding them after two small trials (29 and 40 patients) showed clinically insignificant changes in uric acid. Ask your own doctor before buying any.
Whether you buy a small pack or stock up through a wholesale dates supplier, portion dates out with meals rather than leaving the box open on the counter. For questions about a particular variety, the contact page has our WhatsApp details.
References
- NHS. Gout. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gout/
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day/5-a-day-what-counts/
- FitzGerald JD, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72(6):744-760. PMID 32391934
- Zhang Y, et al. Purine-rich foods intake and recurrent gout attacks. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012;71:1448-53. PMID 22648933
- Choi HK, Curhan G. Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008;336(7639):309-12. PMID 18244959
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, medjool, FDC 168191. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168191/nutrients
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, deglet noor, FDC 171726. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171726/nutrients