Purine Food Chart

One of the most common chemical compounds present on earth is Purines. They are of two types i-e, exogenous and endogenous. Exogenous are the ones our body absorbs through the food we eat.

At the same time, endogenous purines are the ones that the body creates itself. When purines break down in the digestive system, uric acid forms, and eating purines can cause a buildup of uric acid in the body. 

If the uric acid created by the excessive purine intake remains in the body for a more extended period, it may lead to several health risks.

Our digestive system digests and expels most purines. Yet, you must lower your purine intake if your digestive system is not functioning correctly. 

Otherwise, higher purine intake can lead to higher uric acid levels. We are leading to several health conditions such as Increased diabetes risk, Kidney stones.

So it is essential to moderate the number of purine intake. For a suitable purine intake plan, we can take a look at the Purine food Chart given below.

Purine Food list Chart
Food Purine Purine Level Serving size
Fish sardines in oil480 mgHigh100 g
Liver,Calfs460 mgHigh100 g
Sheep’s spleen773 mgHigh100 g
Been, seed128 mgModerate100 g
Beef,Chuck120 mgModerate100 g
Beef, Fillet110 mgModerate100 g
Banana57 mgLow100 g
Whole grain96 mgLow100 g
Bamboo shoots29 mgLow100 g

Foods High In Purines

Purines are part of daily life; yet, depending on your regular diet, you may come across many. Foods with higher amounts of purine can be dangerous, especially for people facing health conditions such as hyperuricemia or other health risks.

Given this, such should gain proper knowledge about purine-rich food items. They can either avoid the purine rich foods or look for alternative food options. 

Some of the high Purine foods that you can find are in the Purine food chart listed below.

Food PurineServing size
Ox Liver554 mg100 g
Ox spleen444 mg100 g
Sheep’s spleen773 mg100 g

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Low Purine Food List

Low Purine foods are the foods that a doctor recommends to their patients. Higher purine intake can negatively affect people with conditions like excessive uric acid in their bloodstream, Kidney stones, and Diabetes.

They must switch to food items with low purine levels. The chart below shows the Purine Level Chart.

Food PurineServing size
Brain’s calf92 mg100 g
Bread14 mg100 g
Cheese7.1 mg100 g

Low Purine Vegetables

A food item is low in purine when it has less than 100 mg of purine per 100 grams. Vegetables are good low-purine food. Some of these fall in the medium category, whereas most fall in the low-purine category. Some of them are.

  • Cabbage
  • Bell pepper
  • Beetroot

To learn more about low-purine vegetables you can see the table below-involving vegetables falling in the low-purine category.

Food PurineServing size
Beetroot19 mg100 g
Broccoli81 mg100 g
Cabbage32 mg100 g

Low Purine Fruits

While talking about low purine food items, fruits are hard to ignore. That said,you come across some frequently asked questions regarding fruits like, “does banana fall in the high purine food chart?” The answer is no because they lie in the low-purine fruit category.

It does have vitamin C, but this creates doubts in people’s minds, and they end up asking such questions. Some of the low-purine fruits are.

  • Grapefruit
  •  Oranges
  •  Pineapples
  •  Strawberries

You can understand the presence of purine content in fruits easily with the help of the Purine food chart.

FoodPurineServing size
Apple14 mg100 g
Apricot73 mg100 g
Artichoke78 mg100 g

Also read: Anti-inflammatory Foods List

Low Purine Diet

A low Purine Diet means having food with less purine. Purine’s excessive intake can build up uric acid in the body.

An excessive amount of uric acid in the body causes swelling known as Gout. It may also cause kidney stones, which is quite a painful process.

Therefore these conditions are often treated through medicines, but a low purine diet can also help in recovery, limiting the number of purines in the body. This process will lessen the amount of uric acid in the body resulting in quick recovery. 

Some of the low-purine foods are.

  • Bread and Cereals
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables
  • Eggs 
  • Milk
  • Nuts

Furthermore, through a printable PDF list of all low-purine foods, you can create a proper low-purine diet plan for a gout patient or one with a kidney stone. You can also take help from the low-purine food chart.

FoodPurineServing size
Ox brain75 mg100 g
Nuts25 mg100 g
Yogurt8.1 mg100 g
Spinach57 mg100 g
Strawberry21 mg100 g

Low Purine Meats

Meat is a protein-rich food item and has a higher purine level. People ask about how meat helps gain energy if its purine level is higher, and some similar questions about meat-cooked dishes. 

Some of the similarly asked questions include Is steak high in purine? Most of the time, the answer will be, Yes; eating steak more often can increase uric acid levels in your body because it is cooked from red meat, which is high in purine.

In the case of Gout patients and others exposed to several health risks eating meat is not an option; they need to avoid it. At the same time, healthy people should also moderate their meat intake ratio. 

It is not that every kind of meat is higher in purine. Some of them also come in the low purine category. But overall, meat is considered a high-purine food item.

Some of the lower purine meat items are.

  • White meats
  • Pork
  • Chicken

To get a better picture of what meat to eat regularly and what to eat moderately without risking our health, we can look at the Purine food chart for beef.

FoodPurineServing size
Ox brain75 mg100 g
Beef brisket72 mg100 g
Beef neck100 mg100 g

Low Purine Fish List

Fish is also a meat source; One might think it will also be high in purine. But here, the scenario is different as fish meat is seafood, and most seafood is considered low in purine. Other sources of meat include animals, birds, fish, etc. 

However, the higher purine meat is obtained from animals similar to high and low purine level in animal meat. Fish meat also has kinds, some of which fall in a lower category, and some come in a higher purine list. 

Since the majority of fish is in a low purine category so we can mention some of them below.

  • Japanese eel
  • Monkfish meat
  • Sablefish

The purine food chart below shows the fishes with higher and lower purine levels to get a clear view.

Food PurineServing size
Fish eel smoked78 mg100 g
Monk fish89 mg100 g
Red King Crab97.9 mg100 g

Conclusion

There you have it- a purine food chart. It best explains which foods are high and low in purine. Following these charts according to your health condition can help you control your purine intake. This way, those with severe health conditions can also consume low-purine foods without having to avoid them.