Tomatoes for gout: is it possible or not?

Being a full member of the Solanaceae family, tomatoes are among the popular vegetable products around which controversy does not subside. And the main point of medical and dietary discussions - is it possible to eat tomatoes with gout.

Until researchers come to a common opinion and did not answer this question unequivocally (if it is possible!), It remains for us to cite different points of view and arguments of those who express it.

Tomatoes for gout can be: the main arguments

Many nutritionists say that by eating tomatoes with gout, you can reduce the acidity of urine. What is it for?

When the blood increases the content of uric acid - the product of the biological cycle of nitrogen and the cycle of urea in the body - it can bring out normally functioning kidneys. But for this, the level of acidity of the blood should be normal (pH 7.34-7.45). One of the causes of retention of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of its insoluble crystals in the joints - gout - increased acidity of the blood (violated the balance of acids and bases). To bring this indicator to normal, it is recommended to eat products with alkalizing properties - vegetables, fruits and berries, which contain organic acids.

Tomatoes are rich in such acids, among which are carbonaceous (citric, malic, tartaric, oxalic, succinic, fumaric), hydroxyacetic (glycolic), oxohexane (galacturonic), hydroxycinnamic acids (coffee, ferulic and cumaric).

Alkaline effect, which gives tomatoes for gout, is obtained by neutralizing organic acids in the stomach with an alkaline secret, which is produced by glands of the pyloric section. The secret consists of bicarbonates (bicarbonate salts), chlorides, sulfates, etc. As a result of acid reactions, positively charged ions (cations) are given, and, as is known from physiology, it is the cations that create the alkaline medium.

In addition, the previously mentioned hydroxycinnamic acids can also be useful in gout. First, its antioxidant properties that protect the body from the effects of free radicals. Secondly, these organic acids belong to phenylpropenic compounds, and the presence of their phenolic group indicates their ability to reduce inflammation - by inhibiting the production of enzymes necessary to activate the inflammatory reaction.

It is believed that the anti-inflammatory effect of tomatoes in gouty attacks can enhance lycopene - a red pigment, β-carotene isomer with a significant antioxidant potential. Lycopene in 100 g of tomatoes is 2.57 mg. However, it can be assimilated, like all carotenoids, only in the presence of fats.

To consume tomatoes with gout is not recommended: the main reasons

By the way, the diet for gout (№6), also recommended for urate and oxalate in urine and uric acid nephrolithiasis, does not contain a single word that tomatoes can not be eaten with gout. From vegetable products should be excluded spinach, sorrel and legumes. And tomatoes, aubergines, green pepper, parsley (greens), as well as cauliflower, cranberries and raspberries are recommended to be limited.

Some people believe that Solanaceae - potatoes, aubergines, peppers and tomatoes - increase inflammation and joint pain, but no serious studies have been conducted on this issue.

For example, in the summer of 2015, researchers at the University of Otago (New Zealand) conducted a survey of local residents suffering from gout, with regard to products - triggers of bouts of pain. Answers gave just over two thousand people. The fourth place (after alcohol, seafood and red meat) was taken by tomatoes with gout. Rheumatologists suggest that eating tomatoes can cause gout attacks by increasing the urate in the blood serum. Indigenous New Zealanders - Maori - 100 years ago had no idea about this disease. And now among the Maori and men of the Pacific islands, the level of gout defeat is 10-15%.

As scientists suppose, blame for this may be glutamic acid of tomatoes in the form of monosodium salt - glutamate, which is a source of nitrogen in the synthesis of purines, and its overabundance becomes a stimulant for the production of uric acid salts.

Therefore, the department of biochemical research at the University of New Zealand decided: further research is needed to determine whether tomatoes should be added to the list of dietary exceptions for gout.

Tomatoes for gout are part of a balanced diet

Proceeding from everything that was mentioned above, a diet for gout on the basis of tomatoes - as you know - is impossible. And advice from the Internet about the fact that persistent lowering of the level of uric acid in the blood guarantees the daily consumption of tomato soup gazpacho (crushed fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, onions and garlic with the addition of wine vinegar and olive oil) - a full reniksa it is nonsense).

And although tomatoes are rich in vitamins and trace elements and are suitable for most gout patients, they should be consumed as part of a general balanced diet. In addition, tomatoes are 94% water, and therefore are an excellent diuretic, which positively affects the work of the kidneys.

So if you suspect that tomatoes or other foods exacerbate the manifestation of the disease, act rationally: just do not include them in your diet.

We hope that now your idea of tomatoes and their properties has expanded. And those who suffer from gout, it remains to take the information received and decide: whether they should eat tomatoes for gout.