Dr. Prabhat AryaMBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · DMC Reg. No. DMC-83759drprabhatarya.com

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026

Diet chart for gout

Diet helps gout, but it does not replace the tablet that lowers uric acid. Beer, meat and sweet drinks matter most. Dal, vegetables and ordinary home food are safe.

½ Vegetables and salad ¼ Dal, paneer, curd, milk, egg ¼ Roti, rice or millet
  1. Stop alcohol, above all beer. It raises uric acid more than any food and brings on attacks.
  2. Drink enough water to pass pale urine through the day: about 8 to 10 glasses, unless your doctor has limited it.
  3. Lose extra weight slowly, about half a kg a week. Fasting and crash diets raise uric acid and can start an attack.

Eat more

  • All ordinary vegetables, including palak, mushroom, peas and cauliflower
  • Dal, chana, rajma, lobia: normal home portions are fine
  • Low-fat milk, curd, chaas and paneer: they help the body pass out uric acid
  • Whole fruit: guava, orange, amla, papaya, apple, cherries when in season
  • Eggs, and a small handful of nuts
  • Water, lemon water without sugar, tea or coffee without sugar

Eat less, and measure

  • Chicken and fish: one small katori, not every day
  • Roti and rice: two small rotis or one small katori of rice per meal
  • Cooking oil and ghee together: 4 to 5 teaspoons per person for the whole day
  • Salt: less than one teaspoon a day in all, counting pickle and papad
  • Sweet fruit such as mango, chikoo and grapes: a small portion
  • Tea and coffee: no more than 3 cups a day, without sugar

Avoid

  • Beer of every kind, including "light" beer, and hard liquor
  • Mutton, goat and pork: red meat raises uric acid
  • Liver, kidney, brain and other organ meat (kaleji, gurda, bheja)
  • Prawns, crab, sardines and dried fish
  • Cold drinks, packaged juice, fresh fruit juice, energy drinks
  • Sugar, gur, honey, sweets and mithai

A sample day

Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.

On waking
Two glasses of water. Tea or coffee without sugar
Breakfast
Two moong dal chilla or besan chilla with a katori of curd, or one bowl of vegetable pohaSwap: Two-egg omelette with vegetables and one roti
Mid-morning
One fruit: guava, orange or papaya, and a glass of water
Lunch
Salad. A big katori of sabzi, a katori of dal, two small rotis or one roti with a small katori of rice, raitaSwap: A small katori of chicken or fish curry, not every day
Evening
A glass of chaas, with roasted chana or makhanaSwap: A boiled egg
Dinner, by 8 pm
Sabzi, paneer or dal, one or two rotis. Lighter than lunchSwap: Egg curry in place of paneer
Bedtime
A glass of water. A cup of low-fat milk if you like

Common myths

All dal, rajma and chana must be stopped.
They are safe. Meat, beer and sweet drinks raise uric acid, not dal.
Palak, tomato and paneer cause gout.
They do not. Vegetables and milk products are safe.
Beer is fine; only whisky is harmful.
Beer is the worst of all for uric acid.
Once the pain goes, the tablet can be stopped.
Stopping it brings attacks back. Ask your doctor first.

Dr. Arya’s note for you

A hot, swollen joint with fever or shivering needs a doctor the same day: it may be an infection, not gout. Do not stop your uric acid tablet during an attack.

This is general advice for adults. If you also have kidney disease, follow the kidney chart for water and protein; if you have diabetes, follow the diabetes chart for sugar and rice. When in doubt, ask Dr. Arya.