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

¿Qué son las purinas y qué alimentos se deben evitar en una dieta para la gota?

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.

Un gran artículo explica muy bien esta sustancia natural:

"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."

Luego continúa explicando cómo las purinas se metabolizan en ácido úrico:

"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.

Sin embargo, los niveles de ácido úrico en la sangre y otras partes del cuerpo pueden volverse demasiado altos bajo diversas circunstancias. Dado que nuestros riñones son responsables de ayudar a mantener equilibrados los niveles de ácido úrico en la sangre, los problemas renales pueden provocar una acumulación excesiva de ácido úrico en diversas partes del cuerpo. La descomposición excesiva de las células también puede causar acumulación de ácido úrico. Cuando el ácido úrico se acumula, se pueden depositar cristales de ácido úrico (llamados cristales de urato monosódico) en nuestros tendones, articulaciones, riñones y otros órganos."

Una dieta baja en purinas puede ser beneficiosa para quienes padecen de gota:

"Debido a que el ácido úrico se forma a partir de la descomposición de las purinas, las dietas bajas en purinas se utilizan a menudo para ayudar a tratar condiciones como la gota, en las cuales se deposita un exceso de ácido úrico en los tejidos del cuerpo. La dieta diaria promedio para un adulto en Estados Unidos contiene aproximadamente 600-1,000 miligramos de purinas.

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."

Estos son los alimentos que debes evitar, ya que contienen los niveles más altos de purina (hasta 1000 mg por porción de 3.5 onzas):

• Carne picada (¡reduce esas hamburguesas!)
• Anchoas
• Cerebros, Riñones, Hígado, Corazones de animales (mi consejo es que ni siquiera toques órganos de animales.)
• salsas
• sardinas
• mollejas
• Alimentos con levadura
• Caballa
• Mejillones
• arenque
• Cerveza y otras bebidas alcohólicas

Estos alimentos deben ser consumidos con moderación, ya que contienen niveles moderadamente altos de purina (5-100 mg por porción de 3.5 onzas):

• Espárragos
• Carne de res
• Pollo
• Sopa de pollo
• Langosta
• Frijoles Lima, frijoles blancos, frijoles rojos, lentejas y guisantes
• Hongos
• Cerdo
• Avena
• Atún
• Pavo
• Mariscos
• Tocino
• Conejo
• Ternera
• ostras
• Coliflor
• Pato
• Ganso
• jamón
• Cordero
• Pescado de pargo, trucha y halibut
• Perca
• Espinaca

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.

Finalmente aquí están los alimentos bajos en purinas:

• Cacahuetes, nueces, almendras
• Mantequilla de maní y almendras
• Leche, queso y helado
• Pan integral
• Pasta
• Arroz
• Manzanas, plátanos, piña, uvas, fresas, calabaza
• lechuga, romana
• Café y te
• Chocolate
• Huevos
• verduras no verdes

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.

¿Qué alimentos son beneficiosos para los enfermos de gota?

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.

Las bayas oscuras pueden contener sustancias químicas que reducen el ácido úrico y disminuyen la inflamación. Todas las bayas que son de color rojo oscuro o azul contienen flavonoides y antocianidinas, antioxidantes beneficiosos que pueden aumentar el contenido de colágeno de los tendones y cartílagos que rodean las articulaciones afectadas.

El tofu, que se elabora a partir de soja, puede ser una mejor opción que las carnes. Me gusta cocinarlo con arroz basmati, que tiene un menor contenido de Nivel de glucosa 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.

Consejos para mantener una dieta baja en purinas

1. Saber qué es la purina

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. Centrarse en los alimentos integrales

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. Evita la basura

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. Vino sobre cerveza

Siempre advierto a mis lectores sobre los peligros del alcohol para la gota, pero si debes beber por alguna ocasión, opta por el mal menor, el vino. El vino sigue siendo alcohol, pero no tiene tantos efectos negativos en el cuerpo como la cerveza. De hecho, una pequeña cantidad de vino podría incluso ser beneficiosa para la salud del corazón.

5. Hazlo divertido

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.

Para hacer tu camino hacia la salud un poco más divertido, puedes considerar una dieta como la dieta mediterránea, que representa en gran medida lo que puede ser una dieta baja en purinas. Lo mejor de todo es que esta dieta no es nueva. De hecho, es bastante popular entre las personas interesadas en la salud. Te sugiero que busques algunas recetas de comidas mediterráneas y así podrás mantener la gota bajo control. 

6. Beber mucha agua

Por último, pero no menos importante, asegúrate de mantenerte siempre hidratado. Sin importar si lo que estás comiendo es bajo en purinas o no, debes beber suficiente agua para diluir la concentración de ácido úrico en tu cuerpo. También es recomendable que adquieras el hábito de beber agua antes de cada comida. Esto te ayudará a evitar comer en exceso, lo cual a menudo provoca brotes de gota. 

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 no 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.

AVISO LEGAL

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