We must have heard old people say “eating too much chicken makes your joints pain”. Do you wonder why? When people see chicken menu, they often tell us that it’s the cause of joint pain and gout. Actually chicken is only a part of it. the main cause of gout is uric acid accumulation. Uric acid is produced when the body breaks down a chemical called purine which can be found in many types of food. When the body does not function properly for some reason and uric acid is unusually produced, joint pain occurs and it is quite a serious condition. Many diseases could follow such as gout, stones, and acidic blood.

Purine found in chicken is only moderate level. But eating too much chicken could somehow lead to joint pain. Purine rich food that we should avoid include livers, kidneys, brains, fish eggs, sardines, anchovies, soup, broth, Thai copper pod, ivy gourd, chayote, acacia, climbing wattle, green beans, red beans, soy, black beans, and alcoholic drinks (liquor, beer), soda and fruit juices with high fructose corn syrup.

Low purine food that we recommend includes white rice, white bread, noodle, macaroni, pasta, crackers, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, green leaved vegetables (not the top), fruits, cooking oil, jelly, gelatin, etc. However we also recommend that you drink 8-16 glasses of water a day together with healthy diet in an appropriate amount and take regular exercise to control weight. This will help you reduce uric acid accumulation.