Are tomatoes bad for gout?

In this short article, we will answer the question “Are tomatoes bad for gout?” and will discuss the relation between tomatoes, uric acid and gout.

Are tomatoes bad for gout?

Yes, tomatoes are bad for gout. There is a connection between tomatoes and a greater blood uric acid level. They may therefore cause gout in some individuals.

What is gout?

The hallmark of gout is an increase in uric acid levels in the blood, which causes deposits of sodium monolaurate crystals in the joints. The secondary acute arthritis breakouts that are so upsetting to patients are caused by this deposit.

Acute gout attacks cause the affected joint to become painful very quickly, followed by heat, oedema, redness, and soreness. For other people, the stinging pain can be so extreme that it hurts only to touch a bed sheet.

The majority of the time, these attacks pass within a few hours to a few days, but in exceptional circumstances, they may last for weeks. 

Gout attacks typically affect the tiny joint at the base of the big toe, but they can also affect the ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows.

Uric acid crystals may begin to form lumps under the skin after years of recurrent gout attacks. They typically show up on the hands, elbows, and fingers and are painless. These lumps may swell and hurt during a gout episode.

Therefore, as soon as you have gout symptoms in your body, seek medical attention right away to determine whether you have the ailment and follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations.

What is uric acid?

The natural breakdown of the body’s cells and the food we eat results in the production of uric acid.

While a tiny quantity of this chemical exits the body in the faeces, the majority is filtered by the kidneys and passes through the urine. 

The levels of the chemical in the blood, however, rise when there is a significant synthesis of uric acid or when the kidneys are unable to adequately eliminate the substance from the body.

And the issue with that is that solid crystals can form inside the joints when uric acid levels are high, resulting in the painful condition known as gout.

These crystals can accumulate in the joints and surrounding tissues and develop hard, lumpy (grainy) deposits if the condition is not addressed. Kidney failure and stones can result from high uric acid levels that are not treated.

What connection exists between tomatoes and uric acid?

Dietary modifications can aid in the treatment of excessive uric acid. Naturally, you must go by all the instructions your doctor gives you on your diet, the usage of medications, and other matters he brings up to cure the disease.

Tomatoes have a high water content, like the majority of fruits and vegetables. And in theory, drinking a lot of fluids can assist the body in passing extra uric acid in the urine. Tomatoes are also nutrient-dense and low in sugar.

Consuming tomatoes is linked to elevated blood uric acid levels. The link between uric acid levels and consumption of seafood, red meat, alcoholic beverages, or sugar-added beverages was also positively correlated with tomato consumption.

For those who have already had tomatoes and then have a gout attack, avoiding tomatoes can be beneficial. Long-term avoidance of fruit consumption is not necessary, though, with careful care.

In any case, it is imperative that you speak with the physician overseeing your care to find out whether and for how long you should avoid tomatoes in your meals if you have gout, high blood levels of uric acid, or both.

Gout patients shouldn’t try to manage their ailment just through diet. Patients are unable to follow a strict diet that will reduce their uric acid levels to the point where they are no longer at risk of developing gout attacks. 

To treat the illness, they must take prescription drugs as usual (which must be prescribed by a doctor, of course). Patients who continue receiving this kind of treatment will not be vulnerable to these attacks.

Conclusion:

In this short article, we answered the question “Are tomatoes bad for gout?” and discussed the relation between tomatoes, uric acid and gout.

References:

https://www.healthline.com/health/gout/tomatoes-and-gout#:~:text=Tomatoes%20are%20linked%20to%20a,gout%20symptoms%20for%20some%20people.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/tomatoes-and-gout-5092218

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