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

Qu'est-ce que les purines et quels aliments doivent être évités dans un régime contre la goutte ?

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 excellent article explique très bien cette substance naturelle :

"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."

L'article explique ensuite comment les purines sont métabolisées en acide urique :

"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.

Cependant, les niveaux d'acide urique dans le sang et dans d'autres parties du corps peuvent devenir trop élevés dans diverses circonstances. Étant donné que nos reins sont responsables de maintenir un équilibre des niveaux d'acide urique dans le sang, des problèmes rénaux peuvent entraîner une accumulation excessive d'acide urique dans différentes parties du corps. Une décomposition excessive des cellules peut également entraîner une accumulation d'acide urique. Lorsque l'acide urique s'accumule, des cristaux d'acide urique (appelés cristaux de monosodium urate) peuvent se déposer dans nos tendons, nos articulations, nos reins et d'autres organes."

Un régime pauvre en purines peut être bénéfique pour les personnes souffrant de la goutte :

"Étant donné que l'acide urique est formé à partir de la décomposition des purines, les régimes pauvres en purines sont souvent utilisés pour aider à traiter des affections comme la goutte, dans lesquelles une quantité excessive d'acide urique est déposée dans les tissus du corps. Le régime alimentaire quotidien moyen pour un adulte aux États-Unis contient environ 600 à 1 000 milligrammes de purines.

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."

Voici les aliments à éviter qui contiennent les niveaux de purines les plus élevés (jusqu'à 1000 mg par portion de 3,5 onces) :

• Mince meat (réduisez votre consommation de burgers !)
• Anchois
• Cerveau, Reins, Foie, Oreilles animales (mon conseil est de ne même pas toucher les abats)
• sauces
• Sardines
• Ris de veau
• Aliments à levure
• Maquereau
• Moules
• Hareng
• La bière et autres boissons alcoolisées

Ces aliments doivent être consommés avec modération car ils contiennent des niveaux modérément élevés de purines (5 à 100 mg par portion de 3,5 onces) :

• Asperges
• Bœuf
• Poulet
• Soupe de poulet
• Homard
• Haricots de Lima, haricots de la Marine, haricots rouges, lentilles et pois
• Champignons
• Porc
• la farine d'avoine
• Thon
• Dinde
• Fruits de mer
• Bacon
• Lapin
• Veau
• Huîtres
• Chou-fleur
• Canard
• Oie
• Jambon
• Agneau
• Vivaneau, truite et flétan
• Perche
• Épinards

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.

Enfin, voici des aliments faibles en purines:

• Cacahuètes, noix de Grenoble, amandes
• Beurre de cacahuètes et d'amande
• Lait, fromage et crème glacée
• Pain de blé entier
• Pâtes
• Riz
• Pommes, bananes, ananas, raisins, fraises, citrouille
• Laitue, romaine
• Café et thé
• Chocolat
• Œufs
• Légumes non verts

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.

Quels aliments sont bénéfiques pour les personnes souffrant de goutte ?

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.

Les baies foncées peuvent contenir des substances chimiques qui réduisent l'acide urique et réduisent l'inflammation. Toutes les baies de couleur rouge foncé ou bleue contiennent des flavonoïdes et des anthocyanidines, des antioxydants bénéfiques qui peuvent améliorer la teneur en collagène des tendons et des cartilages entourant les articulations affectées.

Le tofu, fabriqué à partir de soja, peut être un meilleur choix que les viandes. J'aime le cuisiner avec du riz basmati qui est plus faible sur l'indice glycémique 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.

Conseils pour suivre un régime pauvre en purines

1. Comprenez ce qu'est la purine

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. Concentrez-vous sur les aliments entiers

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. Évitez la malbouffe

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. Privilégiez le vin plutôt que la bière

Je mets toujours mes lecteurs en garde contre les dangers de l'alcool pour la goutte, mais si vous devez boire pour l'occasion, optez pour le moindre mal, le vin. Le vin est toujours de l'alcool, mais il n'a pas autant d'effets négatifs sur votre corps que la bière. En fait, une petite quantité de vin pourrait même être bénéfique pour la santé de votre cœur.

5. Rendez-le amusant

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.

Pour rendre votre parcours de santé un peu plus amusant, vous pouvez envisager un régime comme le régime méditerranéen, qui représente bien ce qu'est un régime pauvre en purines. Le grand avantage de ce régime est qu'il n'est pas nouveau. En fait, il est très populaire auprès de la foule soucieuse de leur santé. Pensez à consulter des recettes de plats méditerranéens et vous devriez pouvoir éviter la goutte. 

6. Buvez beaucoup d'eau

Enfin, assurez-vous d'être toujours hydraté. Que votre alimentation soit pauvre en purines ou non, vous devriez boire suffisamment d'eau pour diluer la concentration d'acide urique dans votre corps. Vous devez également prendre l'habitude de boire de l'eau avant chaque repas. Cela vous évitera de trop manger, ce qui est souvent une cause de poussées de goutte. 

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 pas 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.

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