Purine-rich foods chart - the full breakdown
Last updated: September 27, 2026
Instead of memorizing exact milligrams of purines per 100g of food (which vary by source and preparation method anyway), it's much more practical to think in terms of risk groups. Below you'll find foods split into four groups, from those worth avoiding to those that are completely safe.
Very high purine content - avoid
- Organ meats: liver, kidneys, tripe, brain
- Sardines, herring, sprats, mackerel
- Seafood: mussels, shrimp, oysters
- Meat extracts and long-simmered bone broths
- Brewer's yeast and beer
High purine content - limit
- Red meat: beef, pork, lamb
- Game
- Processed meat: cold cuts, sausages, hot dogs
- Most fish (salmon, tuna, cod) in moderate portions
- Turkey and chicken, especially skin and poultry organs
Moderate purine content - fine in reasonable amounts
- Some vegetables: spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower
- Legumes: lentils, chickpeas, beans
- Oats and whole grains
- Eggs
Low purine content - safe every day
- Most vegetables: potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce
- Fruit, especially cherries
- Low-fat dairy: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese
- Rice, pasta, bread (regular, not whole grain)
- Nuts and vegetable oils
An important note about "moderate" vegetables
Spinach, asparagus and mushrooms technically contain quite a bit of purines, but research doesn't confirm they raise gout attack risk the way meat or seafood do. Plant-based purines are generally considered to have less impact on uric acid levels than animal-based ones, so there's no need to cut them out completely.
How to use this breakdown day to day
The simplest approach is to build most meals around low- and moderate-purine foods, treating the high and very-high groups as an occasional addition rather than an everyday staple. Instead of checking every food by hand, you can also just log meals in an app that adds up the daily total for you.
In PuriCalc you'll find a built-in database of over 1,000 foods with purine content already assigned, so you don't have to classify every ingredient yourself. Download PuriCalc →
This article is for general information only and does not replace medical or dietary advice. If in doubt, consult your diet with a doctor or dietitian.