Discover the facts and benefits of tempe for your health and learn how to prevent gout here.
Tempe, a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans, offers numerous health benefits due to its rich content of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. However, many people mistakenly believe that tempe can trigger gout due to its high purine content. Is this assumption accurate? Let's delve into the explanation below.
Understanding Uric Acid and Purine
Gout is a form of joint inflammation characterized by pain, swelling, redness, and tenderness in one or more joints. It commonly affects the big toe but can also impact other joints such as the knees, wrists, and elbows.
Uric acid results from the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints. These crystals stem from the breakdown of purines, chemical compounds found in certain foods and beverages. Purines are also produced by the body as part of normal cell processes.
In reality, purines are not harmful to the body as long as uric acid levels in the blood remain within the normal range. However, if the production or excretion of uric acid is disrupted, blood uric acid levels may rise, leading to the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints.
Which Foods Contain High Purine Levels?
Foods high in purines are typically animal-based, including red meat, offal, seafood, and meat broths. Consuming these foods excessively can raise uric acid levels in the blood.
Additionally, several plant-based foods contain high purine levels, such as spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, and legumes. However, these plant-based foods do not pose the same risk of increasing uric acid as animal-based foods.
What About Tempe?
Tempe is a plant-based food that contains high levels of purines. According to data from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 28 (2016), 100 grams of tempe contain 64 mg of purines.
This figure is indeed higher compared to other plant-based foods like tofu (25 mg), mung beans (43 mg), or kidney beans (45 mg). However, tempe does not cause gout as soy products have a protective effect against uric acid.
Several studies conducted in Asia, including Indonesia, have proven this. Research involving over 50,000 Chinese individuals in Singapore found that those who consumed soy products the most had a lower risk of developing gout compared to those who consumed them the least.
Another study conducted by Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in 2018 demonstrated that consuming tempe did not affect blood uric acid levels. In fact, tempe could help lower uric acid levels due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Scientists have yet to determine the exact mechanism through which tempe protects the body against gout. However, one possibility is that tempe enhances uric acid excretion through urine, thereby not contributing to an increased risk of gout.
Conclusion
Tempe is a safe soy-based food for gout sufferers. It does not cause gout as soy products have a protective effect against uric acid. Moreover, tempe offers various other health benefits due to its protein, fiber, vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant content.
Therefore, there's no need to worry about consuming tempe regularly. However, it's important to pay attention to portion sizes and cooking methods. Avoid deep-frying tempe in excessive oil or adding seasonings high in salt, sugar, or flavor enhancers.
Additionally, to prevent and manage gout, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is crucial. Reduce the consumption of high-purine animal-based foods such as red meat, offal, seafood, and meat broths. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables rich in water, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Don't forget to stay adequately hydrated by drinking enough water daily. Water helps dissolve and eliminate uric acid from the body. Regular exercise and maintaining an ideal body weight are also important in reducing the risk of gout.
We hope this article has been informative and helpful to you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below. Thank you for reading this article until the end.
Photo source: Kompas Health
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