What foods should you avoid with gout?

The highest-risk foods for gout are organ meats (liver, kidney, sweetbreads), shellfish and oily fish like anchovies and sardines, game meats, and anything paired with alcohol or sugar-sweetened drinks. These rank worst because their purines come from animal sources, which raise uric acid the most. Portion size still matters: most can be occasional rather than never.

Are all high-purine foods bad for gout?

No. Purines from vegetables, legumes, and mushrooms are linked far more weakly to gout flares than purines from meat and seafood, so high-purine plants like spinach and lentils are usually fine. That is why this list ranks foods by source-weighted purine per serving, not by raw purine content.

Foods to Avoid With Gout (Ranked by Real-Serving Risk)

Foods to avoid with gout

Ranked worst-first by how much purine a real serving delivers. One serving of the heaviest hitters can spend most of a day's purine budget on its own. Here's how much.

One serving, as a share of your day Full list ↓

E Canned Sardines 451 mg · 113%
E Monkfish Liver (steamed) 451 mg · 113%
E Fresh Cutlassfish (hairtail) 436 mg · 109%
E Canned Herring 427 mg · 107%
E Pork Loin 377 mg · 94%
E Anchovies 349 mg · 87%

Per typical serving, against a ~400 mg/day purine target. The grade weighs the source, so a few foods land on the full list for alcohol or sugar, not purines.

"Avoid" rarely means "never." For most of these, a small, occasional portion is fine when your gout is controlled; the goal is to keep them off your plate during a flare and out of your daily routine. Looking for what to eat instead? See the safest foods in the food list.

Why these rank worst

Three things push a food up this list, and none of them is the raw purine number on its own:

Animal-source purines. Purines from organ meats, meat, and seafood raise uric acid far more than the same amount from plants. (Choi et al. 2004, NEJM)
A heavy real serving. We score the portion you actually eat, not an abstract 100 g, so dense, high-purine servings rank higher. See how we grade.
Triggers on top. Alcohol and added fructose raise uric acid through their own routes, independent of purines. (Choi 2004, Lancet, Choi & Curhan 2008, BMJ)

The full list to limit

Every food we grade D (Limit) or E (Avoid), worst-first. Each links to its full breakdown and sources. Purine figures are per typical serving where we have a serving size.

Avoid (grade E)

High in animal-source purines or a known trigger. Best kept off the plate, especially during a flare.

Food	Category	Purine / serving	% daily
Canned Sardines	Fish	451 mg	113%
Monkfish Liver (steamed)	Organ Meats	451 mg	113%
Fresh Cutlassfish (hairtail)	Fish	436 mg	109%
Canned Herring	Fish	427 mg	107%
Pork Loin	Red Meat	377 mg	94%
Anchovies	Fish	349 mg	87%
Sardine (half-dried)	Fish	345 mg	86%
Liver Pork	Organ Meats	327 mg	82%
Turbot Liver	Organ Meats	299 mg	75%
Chicken Liver	Organ Meats	275 mg	69%
Beef Kidney (cooked)	Organ Meats	261 mg	65%
Seabass (Japanese, liver)	Organ Meats	246 mg	62%
Beef Kidney	Organ Meats	241 mg	60%
Wheat Beer (Hefeweizen)	Beverages - Alcoholic	41 mg	10%
Stout Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	38 mg	10%
Dark Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	32 mg	8%
Beer (lager, regular)	Beverages - Alcoholic	29 mg	7%
IPA Beer (India Pale Ale)	Beverages - Alcoholic	29 mg	7%
Export Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	26 mg	6%
Pils Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	24 mg	6%
Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	20 mg	5%
Wheat Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	19 mg	5%
Light Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	14 mg	4%

Limit (grade D)

Higher risk. Keep portions small and occasional.

Food	Category	Purine / serving	% daily
Salmon (sockeye, wild)	Fish	294 mg	73%
Lean Ground Beef	Red Meat	285 mg	71%
Atlantic Salmon	Fish	282 mg	71%
Canned Mackerel	Fish	278 mg	70%
Mackerel (jack, half-dried)	Fish	278 mg	70%
Anchovy (dried)	Fish	277 mg	69%
Pork Loin (tenderloin, boneless)	Red Meat	276 mg	69%
Canned Anchovy	Fish	273 mg	68%
Pork Loin (boneless, skinless)	Red Meat	268 mg	67%
Ground Chicken	Poultry	266 mg	67%
Shrimp (frozen)	Shellfish & Seafood	264 mg	66%
Ground Beef (cooked)	Red Meat	264 mg	66%
Fresh Anchovy	Fish	258 mg	65%
Okiami (krill)	Shellfish & Seafood	255 mg	64%
Deep-water Shrimp	Shellfish & Seafood	250 mg	63%
Canned Tuna	Fish	239 mg	60%
Tuna (Bonito)	Fish	239 mg	60%
Sardine	Fish	238 mg	60%
Pacific Saury (half-dried)	Fish	236 mg	59%
Fermented Mackerel (Heshiko)	Fish	234 mg	59%
Farmed Catfish	Fish	232 mg	58%
Mackerel	Fish	231 mg	58%
Beef Liver	Organ Meats	223 mg	56%
Pork Kidney	Organ Meats	220 mg	55%
Beef Shoulder Roast (cooked)	Red Meat	219 mg	55%
Beef (ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat)	Red Meat	214 mg	53%
Gizzard Shad	Fish	211 mg	53%
Farmed Tilapia	Fish	210 mg	53%
Chicken Breast (stewed)	Poultry	207 mg	52%
Ground Pork	Red Meat	207 mg	52%
Shrimp	Shellfish & Seafood	206 mg	52%
Snails	Shellfish & Seafood	206 mg	52%
Rainbow Trout	Fish	205 mg	51%
Chicken Breast (roasted)	Poultry	202 mg	50%
Shrimp (sand & Pacific species)	Shellfish & Seafood	200 mg	50%
Beef Heart	Organ Meats	193 mg	48%
Lamb Heart	Organ Meats	193 mg	48%
Beef Brain	Organ Meats	183 mg	46%
Crab Ovary	Organ Meats	172 mg	43%
Lamb Liver	Organ Meats	166 mg	42%
Sardine (baby, dried)	Fish	149 mg	37%
Monkfish Liver	Organ Meats	118 mg	29%
Shrimp (Sakura, dried)	Shellfish & Seafood	112 mg	28%
Yeast (dried)	Yeast & Extracts	42 mg	11%
Foie Gras	Organ Meats	33 mg	8%
Liver Pate	Organ Meats	24 mg	6%
Sake Lees	Beverages - Alcoholic	16 mg	4%
Amazake	Beverages - Alcoholic	15 mg	4%
Unsweetened Apple Juice	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	12 mg	3%
Unsweetened Grape Juice	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	12 mg	3%
Low alcohol Beer	Beverages - Alcoholic	11 mg	3%
Red Wine	Beverages - Alcoholic	10 mg	2%
Radler (beer & lemonade)	Beverages - Alcoholic	9 mg	2%
Cranberry Juice Cocktail	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	7 mg	2%
Pomegranate Juice	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	7 mg	2%
Rose Wine	Beverages - Alcoholic	7 mg	2%
Sparkling Wine (Champagne)	Beverages - Alcoholic	6 mg	2%
White Wine	Beverages - Alcoholic	5 mg	1%
Wine Spritzer	Beverages - Alcoholic	5 mg	1%
Dessert Wine (Port or Sherry)	Beverages - Alcoholic	5 mg	1%
Shoko-shu (Chinese liquor)	Beverages - Alcoholic	4 mg	1%
Sake	Beverages - Alcoholic	3 mg	1%
Wine	Beverages - Alcoholic	3 mg	1%
Fruit Juice	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	3 mg	1%
Margarita Cocktail	Beverages - Alcoholic	2 mg	1%
Mojito Cocktail	Beverages - Alcoholic	2 mg	0%
Hard Seltzer	Beverages - Alcoholic	1 mg	0%
Brandy	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Mirin (cooking wine)	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Ume Liqueur	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Whiskey	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Cola (Coca-Cola)	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Fruit Punch Drink	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Gin	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Regular Energy Drink	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Regular Lemon-lime Soda	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Shochu (Japanese spirit liquor)	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Sports Drink (Gatorade)	Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Tequila	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
Vodka	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%
White Rum	Beverages - Alcoholic	0 mg	0%

Foods to avoid with gout

Why these rank worst

The full list to limit

Avoid (grade E)

Limit (grade D)

Popular gout food questions

Sources