0 The New Complete Book of Food
Production of uric acid. Purines are the natural metabolic by-products of protein metabolism
in the body. They eventually break down into uric acid, which can form sharp crystals that
may cause gout if they collect in your joints or kidney stones if they collect in urine. Dried
beans are a source of purines; eating them raises the concentration of purines in your body.
Although controlling the amount of purine-producing foods in the diet may not significantly
affect the course of gout, limiting these foods is still part of many gout regimens.Food/Drug Interactions
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are drugs used to
treat depression. They inactivate naturally occurring enzymes in your body that metabolize
tyramine, a substance found in many fermented or aged foods. Tyramine constricts blood
vessels and increases blood pressure. If you eat a food containing tyramine while you are
taking an MAO inhibitor, you cannot effectively eliminate the tyramine from your body.
The result may be a hypertensive crisis. Some nutrition guides list lentils as a food to avoid
while using MAO inhibitors.