Gout is a painful aching of the joints, most commonly affecting the 1st joint your foot, where the big toe connects with your foot. It also often occurs in the knees and hips as well, but patients most often complain about pain to the joint of the big toe. Symptoms are often so painful, that a patient cannot even stand to have a bedsheet covering the foot.

So what is gout anyway? To keep it simple, it's the build up of uric acid in your body. You see, certain foods contain a molecule that is high in something called purine. These purines are converted to uric acid in your body, and then excreted in your urine. some people dont have the ability to excrete uric acid as efficiently as the rest of us, and the uric acid builds up in the joints. The problem is, that large amounts of uric acid forms sharp crystals in the joints which cut and irritates the joints. Common foods that are high in purines include: shellfish, fish, red meat, aged cheeses, wine and alcohol, and liver.

Food Sources of Purine

Total purine content (mg of purine/100 g food)
Liver
286.4
Kidney
230.8
Poultry
130.7
lamb, roasted, chop
127.5
Pork, roasted, chop
119.0
Fish, white, fresh
115.9
Mushroom, fresh
46.9
Bread, crusted
15.7
Bread, white
12.2
Wheat flour
11.5
Cottage cheese
8.0
Plain yogurt
7.0
Rice, cooked
5.9

Table 2: Purine content in meat organs, seafoods (fresh and canned), and vegetables (legumes).
Purine food sources Total purine content (mg/100 gram food)
Organ meats Total purines
Pork liver 289
Chicken liver 243
Chicken heart 223
Beef kidney 213
Beef liver 197
Beef heart 171
Lamb heart 171
Beef brain 162
Lamb liver 147

Fresh seafoods
Anchovies 411
Sardines 345
Salmon 250
Mackerel 194
Clams 136
Squid 135
Canned seafoods
Sardines 399
Herring 378
Anchovies 321
Mackerel 246
Shrimp 234
Tuna 142
Oysters 107
Salmon 88
Clams 62
Dried legumes
Blackeye peas 230
Lentils 222
Great northern bean 213
Small white bean 202
Split peas 195
Pinto bean 171
Red bean 162
Large lima bean 149
Baby lima bean 144
Cranberry bean 75
Garbanza bean 56

According to a study that compared free and total purine bases content in meat products (steak, beef liver and haddock fillets) before and after cooking, cooking appears to increase the level of free and total purine bases in a diet. Total purine content is based on the sum of all the four purine bases.

Table 3: Purine content in raw and cooked foods.
Meat products

Total purine content

(mg of purine/food)
Liver, raw
202.2
liver, boiled
237.0
liver, broiled
236.1
Steak, raw
105.9
Steak, boiled
107.8
Steak, broiled
121.0
Haddock, raw
101.7
Haddock, boiled
94.7
Haddock, broiled
118.7

Table 4: Purine content in chicken parts (listed high to low).
Purine sources

Total purine content

(mg of purine/food)
Liver, chicken
236.1
Drumstick, chicken
132.3
Breast, chicken
130.7
Gizzard, chicken
130.5
Thigh, chicken
126.5
Skin, chicken
104.6