|
Table 1: High or
low purine food sources
|
Food
Sources of Purine
|
Total purine
content
(mg of
purine/100 g food)
|
|
Liver |
286.4
|
|
Kidney |
230.8
|
|
Poultry |
130.7
|
|
lamb,
roasted, chop
|
127.5
|
|
Pork,
roasted, chop
|
119.0
|
|
Fish,
white, fresh
|
115.9
|
|
Mushroom,
fresh
|
46.9
|
|
Bread,
crusted
|
15.7
|
|
Bread,
white
|
12.2
|
|
Wheat
flour
|
11.5
|
|
Cottage
cheese
|
8.0
|
|
Plain
yogurt
|
7.0
|
|
Rice,
cooked
|
5.9
|
Table 2: Purine
content in meat organs, seafoods
(fresh and canned), and vegetables (legumes).
|
Purine
food sources
|
Total
purine content (mg/100 gram food) |
|
Organ
meats |
Total
purines |
|
Pork liver |
289
|
|
Chicken
liver |
243
|
|
Chicken
heart |
223
|
|
Beef
kidney |
213
|
|
Beef liver |
197
|
|
Beef heart |
171
|
|
Lamb heart |
171
|
|
Beef brain |
162
|
|
Lamb liver |
147
|
|
|
|
|
Fresh seafoods |
|
Anchovies |
411
|
|
Sardines |
345
|
|
Salmon |
250
|
|
Mackerel |
194
|
|
Clams |
136
|
|
Squid |
135
|
|
Canned
seafoods |
|
Sardines |
399
|
|
Herring |
378
|
|
Anchovies |
321
|
|
Mackerel |
246
|
|
Shrimp |
234
|
|
Tuna |
142
|
|
Oysters |
107
|
|
Salmon |
88
|
|
Clams |
62
|
|
Dried
legumes |
|
Blackeye
peas |
230
|
|
Lentils |
222
|
|
Great
northern bean |
213
|
|
Small
white bean |
202
|
|
Split peas |
195
|
|
Pinto bean |
171
|
|
Red bean |
162
|
|
Large lima
bean |
149
|
|
Baby lima
bean |
144
|
|
Cranberry
bean |
75
|
|
Garbanza
bean |
56
|
According to a
study that compared free and total purine bases content in meat products
(steak, beef liver and haddock fillets) before and after cooking, cooking
appears to increase the level of free and total purine bases in a diet. Total
purine content is based on the sum of all the four purine bases.
Table 3: Purine
content in raw and cooked foods.
|
Meat
products
|
Total purine
content
(mg of
purine/food)
|
|
Liver, raw
|
202.2
|
|
liver,
boiled
|
237.0
|
|
liver,
broiled
|
236.1
|
|
Steak, raw
|
105.9
|
|
Steak,
boiled
|
107.8
|
|
Steak,
broiled
|
121.0
|
|
Haddock,
raw
|
101.7
|
|
Haddock,
boiled
|
94.7
|
|
Haddock,
broiled
|
118.7
|
Table 4: Purine
content in chicken parts (listed high to low).
|
Purine
sources
|
Total purine
content
(mg of
purine/food)
|
|
Liver,
chicken
|
236.1
|
|
Drumstick,
chicken |
132.3
|
|
Breast,
chicken
|
130.7
|
|
Gizzard,
chicken
|
130.5
|
|
Thigh,
chicken |
126.5
|
|
Skin,
chicken |
104.6
|
Alcohol drinks
also contain purines. There is strong association between high consumption of
alcoholic drinks and uric acid levels in the blood, and consequently gout.
Below are estimates of purine content in alcoholic drinks analysed by British
researchers.
Table 5: Purine content
in alcoholic drinks (beer).
|
Alcohol
drink
|
Total purine
content
(mg of
purine/Litre)
|
|
Traditional
British beers
|
20.3 -
27.5
|
|
Guinness |
23.8 |
|
Lager beer
|
17.7 |
|
Home-brewed
beer
|
3.9 |
|
Cider |
0.4 |
|