Tomatoes have been considered a healthy food, acceptable for those with gout until reports from those with gout claimed the food triggers symptoms. Some research suggests an association between eating tomatoes and higher levels of uric acid, which is known to trigger gout. However, the science is not conclusive.
Tomatoes are linked to a higher level of uric acid in your blood. That means that they can be a gout trigger for some people. However, tomatoes aren’t a gout trigger for everyone. In fact, tomatoes might help reduce inflammation and gout symptoms for some people.
When I was reading we ran into the question “Does tomatoes affect gout?”.
Tomatoes may trigger gout. They increase levels of uric acid. We explore the effects of tomatoes if you have gout, alternatives to try, and other foods to avoid.
Tomatoes are one food that many people with gout identify as being a trigger for gout flare-ups. Tomatoes contain two potential gout triggers: glutamate and phenolic acid.
You should be thinking “Is tomato juice good for gout patients?”
One answer is that drinking tomato juice has been shown to boost levels of antioxidants while lowering cholesterol. 9 Since gout is an inflammatory condition, lowering inflammation in the body with lycopene-rich tomatoes could reduce symptoms.
Can certain foods trigger a gout attack?
Patients with gout are often told to avoid certain foods that might trigger a gout attack. Some of these triggers have not been substantiated by the medical literature, but anecedotal evidence shows that they exist.
According to Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, foods that are high in purines include: If you have gout, you should avoid these foods as much as possible to try to keep your uric acid levels below 6 milligrams per deciliter, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Why are Tomatoes high in uric acid?
“There are two groups of chemicals in tomatoes that could enhance the amount of uric acid in the blood plasma,” H. P. Vasantha Rupasinghe, Ph. D, P. Ag, explained in an interview. “One group is phenolic acid, and the second group is glutamate.”.
“We found that the positive association between eating tomato and uric acid levels was on a par with that of consuming seafood, red meat, alcohol or sugar-sweetened drinks,” she says.
Is Kale pesto good for gout?
This amazing kale pesto is only 210 calories and anti-oxidant rich! Tomatoes are a low-purine food, so they’re not typically on the “foods to avoid” list for gout. However, research shows that even without purines, tomatoes may increase uric acid levels and worsen the symptoms of gout.