Written by Spiro Koulouris | Medically Reviewed by Dr. Muhammad Qousain Ali, Consultant Rheumatologist on April 2, 2026 

Was sind Purine und welche Lebensmittel sollten bei einer Gichtdiät vermieden werden?

When I was diagnosed with gout, I remember researching on the net about it and coming across this keyword that kept popping up article after article, this word was “purines”. When reading or hearing this word, my brain has this strange association with Purina Cat Chow even to this day! So, what is this “purines”, what does it consist of and why must gout sufferers cut down on it, if they want to lower their uric acid levels.

Ein großartiger Artikel erklärt diese natürliche Substanz sehr gut:

"Purines are natural substances found in all of the body’s cells, and in virtually all foods. The reason for their widespread occurrence is simple: purines provide part of the chemical structure of our genes and the genes of plants and animals. A relatively small number of foods, however, contain concentrated amounts of purines. For the most part, these high-purine foods are also high-protein foods, and they include organ meats like kidney, fish, like mackerel, herring, sardines and mussels, and also yeast."

Anschließend wird erklärt, wie Purine in Harnsäure umgewandelt werden:

"When cells die and get recycled, the purines in their genetic material also get broken down. Uric acid is the chemical formed when purines have been broken down completely. It’s normal and healthy for uric acid to be formed in the body from breakdown of purines. In our blood, for example, uric acid serves as an antioxidant and helps prevent damage to our blood vessel linings, so a continual supply of uric acid is important for protecting our blood vessels.

Der Harnsäurespiegel im Blut und in anderen Teilen des Körpers kann jedoch unter verschiedenen Umständen zu hoch werden. Da unsere Nieren dafür verantwortlich sind, den Harnsäurespiegel im Blut im Gleichgewicht zu halten, können Nierenprobleme zu einer übermäßigen Ansammlung von Harnsäure in verschiedenen Teilen des Körpers führen. Auch ein übermäßiger Abbau von Zellen kann zu einer Ansammlung von Harnsäure führen. Wenn sich Harnsäure ansammelt, können sich Harnsäurekristalle (so genannte Mononatriumuratkristalle) in unseren Sehnen, Gelenken, Nieren und anderen Organen ablagern."

Eine purinarme Ernährung kann für uns Gichtkranke von Vorteil sein:

"Da Harnsäure aus dem Abbau von Purinen entsteht, werden purinarme Diäten häufig zur Behandlung von Krankheiten wie Gicht eingesetzt, bei denen sich übermäßige Harnsäure im Körpergewebe ablagert. Die durchschnittliche tägliche Ernährung eines Erwachsenen in den USA enthält etwa 600-1.000 Milligramm Purine.

Recent research by Choi and others has shown that the impact of plant purines on gout risk is very different from the impact of animal purines, and that within the animal food family, purines from meat and fish act very differently than purines from dairy. Choi’s work has demonstrated that purines from meat and fish clearly increase our risk of gout, while purines from vegetables fail to change our risk. Dairy foods (which can contain purines) actually appear to lower our risk of gout. In summary, this epidemiological research (on tens of thousands of men and women) makes it clear that all purine-containing foods are not the same, and that plant purines are far safer than meat and fish purines in terms of gout risk."

Dies sind die zu vermeidenden Lebensmittel mit dem höchsten Puringehalt (bis zu 1000 mg pro 3,5-Unzen-Portion):

• Hackfleisch (weniger Burger!)
• Sardellen
• Gehirne, Nieren, Leber, Tierherzen (ich empfehle, sie nicht einmal anzurühren) Muschelfleisch)
• Bratenspeisen
• Sardinen
• Kalbsbries
• Hefehaltige Lebensmittel
• Makrele
• Muscheln
• Hering
• Bier und andere alkoholische Getränke

Diese Lebensmittel sollten nur in begrenztem Umfang verzehrt werden, da sie mäßig hohe Puringehalte aufweisen (5-100 mg pro 3,5-Unzen-Portion):

• Spargel
• Rindfleisch
• Huhn
• Hühnersuppe
• Hummer
• Limabohnen, Marinebohnen, Kidneybohnen, Linsen und Erbsen
• Pilze
• Schweinefleisch
• Haferflocken
• Thunfisch
• Türkei
• Muscheln
• Speck
• Kaninchen
• Kalbfleisch
• Austern
• Blumenkohl
• Ente
• Gans
• Schinken
• Lamm
• Schnapper, Forelle und Heilbutt
• Barsch
• Spinat

So, what do you notice from these foods that are high in purines? What they all have in common is that most of the foods are very high in protein, mainly meat and fish. So, limit your meat intake mostly cause fish is healthier for you since it is considered the best source of protein and has very little fat, consisting of 3-5% of its calories as fat, whereas meat has 70-75% of its calories as fat.

When we eat too much protein, its metabolism produces ammonia, urea and other waste products, that take seven to eight times more water to flush out through the kidneys than carbohydrates. The more meat you eat, the more stress you may cause to your kidneys in trying to filter out the waste. As a gout sufferer, I strongly recommend a high carbohydrate diet rich in fruits and vegetables consisting of 80% complex carbs, 10% protein and 10% fat.

As a side-note, when it comes to the moderately high-purine vegetables like asparagus, beans or spinach, there is no reason for you to avoid them in raw form, provided you keep your portion sizes down. That’s the key with the meats and fish on the list, is to keep the portions small, we all heard the general rule for meat portion sizes should be the size of the palm of your hand.

I personally, used to buy rib steaks, cause it obviously had more flavor from the marbled fat that juiced it while cooking it, but now I mostly choose leaner red meats with less marbling, while they are harder to chew and taste more rubbery, they have less fat and are metabolized easier by your kidneys, controlling your risk of increasing your uric acid levels. But more than that, a processed and red meat-based diet has proven health hazards and will probably kill you earlier. We will be examining that in a future post.

Schließlich gibt es noch purinarme Lebensmittel:

• Erdnüsse, Walnüsse, Mandeln
• Erdnuss- und Mandelbutter
• Milch, Käse und Eiscreme
• Vollkornbrot
• Nudeln
• Reis
• Äpfel, Bananen, Ananas, Weintrauben, Erdbeeren, Kürbis
• Kopfsalat, Römersalat
• Kaffee und Tee
• Schokolade
• Eier
• Nicht-grüne Gemüsesorten

These low-purine foods, especially skimmed milk and low-fat dairy products, even have the potential to help flush out the uric acid more efficiently and keep it at a reasonable level.

Welche Lebensmittel sind für Gichtkranke von Vorteil?

One of the best fruits to eat when suffering from gout is cherries. Research has shown that consuming about 250 grams of cherries each day may lessen the risk of gout attacks by reducing blood uric acid levels. Drinking cherry juice may be just as beneficial to gout sufferers as eating cherries. If you find it hard to drink so many glasses of water each day, substitute cherry juice for 2 or 3 glasses of water instead.

Dunkle Beeren können Chemikalien enthalten, die die Harnsäure senken und Entzündungen verringern. Alle dunkelroten oder blauen Beeren enthalten Flavonoide und Anthocyanidine, nützliche Antioxidantien, die den Kollagengehalt der Sehnen und Knorpel in den betroffenen Gelenken verbessern können.

Tofu, der aus Sojabohnen hergestellt wird, ist vielleicht eine bessere Wahl als Fleisch. Ich koche ihn gerne mit Basmati-Reis, der weniger schmackhaft ist. Glykämischer Index and add various vegetables like broccoli, carrots, dried tomatoes etc…

Fatty acids found in certain fish such as salmon, flax or olive oil, or nuts may possess some anti-inflammatory benefits. The famous Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids that are soooo good for us…I use olive oil every day and my doctor has personally told me when doing my blood tests couple of years back, that he has never seen HDL cholesterol so high in years in any of his patients which may protect you from a heart attack and/or cardiovascular disease including arterial plaque buildup.

Tipps zur Einhaltung einer purinarmen Ernährung

1. Wissen, was Purin ist

The purines from food alone aren’t the problem. The body also naturally produces purines. So, on top of what you already have, you’re adding more purines into your body when you eat high purine foods. This breaks down into uric acid which can later lead to a gout attack.

2. Fokus auf Vollwertkost

The great thing about a low-purine diet is that it encourages you to eat whole foods without worrying about the consequence. This includes foods that a typical health obsessed person might balk at like rice, cereal, bread, and pasta. You can eat these foods on a low purine diet because they are considered real foods, and real foods should be part of a balanced meal.

3. Vermeiden Sie den Schrott

In relation to the point above, you simply need to avoid junk food if you want to stay low on your purine intake. This is because most processed foods raise your uric acid levels –items like chips, candies, soft drinks, and fruit juice. These are not real foods and that distinction alone will make it easy for you to follow this diet.

4. Wein statt Bier

Ich warne meine Leser immer vor den Gefahren des Alkohols bei Gicht, aber wenn Sie unbedingt etwas trinken müssen, wählen Sie das geringere Übel, nämlich Wein. Wein ist zwar immer noch Alkohol, aber er wirkt sich nicht so negativ auf Ihren Körper aus wie Bier. Eine kleine Menge Wein kann sich sogar positiv auf Ihre Herzgesundheit auswirken.

5. Es soll Spaß machen

Following a purine diet isn’t all about counting the purine content of every single food item you ingest. Remember, certain healthy foods like asparagus are high in purines, but is it as bad as a pint of beer? Absolutely not. This is because plant-based purines still contain powerful vitamins and minerals, meanwhile high purine items like beer are just empty calories. So, when contemplating on what your next meal should be, don’t shy away from high purine vegetables but be careful of high purine processed foods.

Um Ihre Gesundheitsreise ein wenig unterhaltsamer zu gestalten, können Sie sich mit einer Diät wie der Mittelmeerdiät befassen, die sehr gut repräsentiert, was eine purinarme Ernährung sein kann. Das Tolle daran ist, dass diese Diät nicht neu ist. Sie ist in der Tat sehr beliebt bei den Gesundheitsexperten. Schauen Sie sich einige Rezepte für mediterrane Mahlzeiten an, und Sie sollten die Gicht in Schach halten können. 

6. Viel Wasser trinken

Nicht zuletzt sollten Sie darauf achten, dass Sie immer ausreichend Flüssigkeit zu sich nehmen. Unabhängig davon, ob das, was Sie essen, purinarm ist oder nicht, sollten Sie ausreichend Wasser trinken, um die Harnsäurekonzentration in Ihrem Körper zu verdünnen. Außerdem sollten Sie es sich zur Gewohnheit machen, vor jeder Mahlzeit Wasser zu trinken. So verhindern Sie, dass Sie zu viel essen, was oft eine Ursache für Gichtanfälle ist. 

In conclusion, a low purine diet is key to maintaining low uric acid levels for all gout sufferers. Purines are found in many foods, especially certain animal-based foods but not all protein-rich foods are high in purines and it is nicht recommended to cut all kinds of proteins from your diet, rather keep low-purine foods in your routine which actually help in keeping normal levels of uric acid. Cut back on high-purine foods to control recurring gout attacks and if you notice that you get an attack after eating a certain type of food, experiment by cutting it completely from your diet, talk to your doctor about it too, to see if you might be allergic to that food.

HAFTUNGSAUSSCHLUSS

This article is for educational purposes only and should not replace medical advice. Patients should consult their physician for individual management.