Questions have been raised about whether eating chocolate hurts those with gout or offers some health benefits.
The discussion stems from a 2018 study that showed that people eating a little dark chocolate or chocolate powder could reduce the amount of uric acid in their blood.
Uric acid is the root cause of gout, a painful type of arthritis.
Many people took that to mean it was okay to eat chocolate, including processed chocolate and chocolate bars.
That presents a problem because this type of chocolate is high in both sugar and saturated fat.
That leads to both weight gain and more uric acid.
A List of Chocolate
Gout patients must be clear about the types of chocolate they can eat.
Here is a list:
- White chocolate is high in sugar, which is a gout trigger. Additionally, it doesn’t have the cocoa solids of dark and milk chocolate.
- Ruby chocolate has a fruity taste and has been on the market since 2019. It is also high in sugar, the same as white chocolate.
- Milk chocolate can be an acceptable chocolate at times if the gout patient has brands with no additional sugars.
- Dark chocolate is the version with numerous health benefits like polyphenols and antioxidants. These have anti-inflammatory benefits according to a 2017 study and that can help gout symptoms.
However, you can’t eat as much of it as you want because of the sugar.
You can treat yourself with a bit of it.
A better version of this is to choose a brand with high cacao content and low sugar.
One possible solution is to get packaged chocolate covered fruit.
There are varieties in blueberries, raspberries, cranberries and raisins.
Be sure to look at the packaging to make sure it is a low-sugar product with natural dried fruit.
Conclusion
You don’t have to completely do without just because you’re a diabetic.
There are options from the different chocolate options to mixed fruit and chocolate products.
