Introduction
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.
Foods that contain purines
Because uric acid is formed from the breakdown of purines, low-purine diets are often used to
help treat conditions like gout in which excessive uric acid is deposited in the tissues of the
body. The average daily diet for an adult in the U.S. contains approximately 600-1,000 milligrams
of 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.
In a case of severe or advanced gout, dietitians will often ask individuals to decrease their
total daily purine intake to 100-150 milligrams. A 3.5 ounce serving of some foods, all by
itself, can contain up to 1,000 milligrams of purines. These foods include anchovies, herring,
kidney, liver, mackerel, meat extracts, mincemeat, mussels, sardines, and yeast. You'll notice
that only of these foods - liver - is included amongst the World's Healthiest Foods. The table
below lists other foods that contain higher-than-usual amounts of purines, though not nearly as
much as the foods described above.