Are Anchovies Bad for Gout? Fresh, Canned and Herring Compared

TL;DR

• Anchovies are one of the highest-purine fish: about 355 mg per 100 g fresh and 320 mg canned, both in the very high band.
• The dose is what matters. Two or three canned fillets in a dressing add roughly 25–40 mg of purines; a plate of fresh anchovies can top 300 mg.
• Fresh herring measured lower, about 140 mg per 100 g, but in a single analysis. Older tables list it much higher and canned herring measured about 380 mg, so treat it with the same caution.

Yes, anchovies are among the worst fish for gout by purine content. But how you eat them changes the answer. As a main dish they carry a very high purine load; as a seasoning, a couple of fillets add surprisingly little.

Herring, the anchovy’s larger cousin in the pickle jar and the smokehouse, is less clear-cut. Its numbers are covered below.

How Many Purines Are in Anchovies?

The USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods (Release 2, 2025) has two analyses of fresh anchovies, from 1976 and 2020, which found about 410 and 305 mg of purines per 100 g. The median, about 355 mg, puts anchovies in the very high band. Canned anchovies measured about 320 mg in a single 1976 analysis.

Anchovy serving	Weight	Purines
1 canned fillet	4 g	~13 mg
5 canned fillets	20 g	~65 mg
1 small tin, drained (2 oz can)	45 g	~145 mg
Fresh anchovies, 3 oz	85 g	~300 mg
Fresh anchovies, 100 g	100 g	~355 mg

Serving weights are from USDA FoodData Central. Our charts use four bands: low (under 50 mg per 100 g), moderate (50–100), high (100–200) and very high (over 200).

The table shows why anchovies are two different foods. A fillet melted into a pasta sauce for four people is a few milligrams per plate. A plate of fried fresh anchovies or marinated boquerones is a very high-purine meal.

Fresh vs. Canned vs. Dried Anchovies

• Canned: a little lower per 100 g than fresh in the data we have (320 vs 355 mg), but both are very high. Don’t assume canning lowers purines in general: canned sardines measured about 400 mg against about 280 mg fresh, and canned herring about 380 mg against about 140 mg fresh.
• Salt: canned anchovies are cured before packing. USDA FoodData Central lists about 3,670 mg of sodium per 100 g of anchovies canned in oil, so five fillets carry roughly 730 mg, about a third of the 2,300 mg daily limit adults are advised to stay under.
• Dried: dried anchovies, the small whole fish used in some Asian stocks and snacks, measured about 1,100 mg of purines per 100 g in one Japanese analysis. Drying concentrates everything. A handful is a big purine dose, and purines dissolve into stock made from them.
• Anchovy paste, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce: all are made with anchovies, but used by the teaspoon as seasonings they add far fewer purines than a plate of fillets. Fish sauce is extremely salty, though: about 1,400 mg of sodium per tablespoon in USDA data.

What About Herring?

Herring is where the data gets thin. The USDA purine database has a single analysis of fresh herring, from Japan in 2014, at about 140 mg per 100 g. That would put herring in the high band, well below anchovies. But older gout charts list herring anywhere from about 190 to 290 mg, and one sample isn’t enough to treat herring as a lower-purine fish. Caution still applies.

• Canned herring: about 380 mg per 100 g in a 1976 analysis, in the very high band.
• Pickled and kippered (smoked) herring: no purine data in the database. USDA FoodData Central lists about 870 mg of sodium per 100 g for pickled herring and about 920 mg for kippered.
• Per portion: 3 ounces (85 g) of fresh herring carries about 120 mg of purines at the newest figure, or up to about 245 mg at the older ones. The same weight of canned herring is about 320 mg.

The Arthritis Foundation lists anchovies, sardines and herring among the high-purine seafood for people with gout. Until more analyses of herring are published, that’s a sensible way to treat it.

How Do Anchovies Compare With Other Fish?

Fish	Purines per 100 g	Band
Dried anchovies	~1,100 mg (one analysis)	Very high
Canned sardines	400 mg	Very high
Canned herring	~380 mg (one 1976 analysis)	Very high
Fresh anchovies	355 mg	Very high
Canned anchovies	320 mg	Very high
Fresh sardines	280 mg (210–345)	Very high
Salmon, farmed Atlantic	250 mg	Very high
Fresh herring	140 mg (one analysis; older tables 190–290)	High (thin data, caution)
Canned tuna	140 mg (115–210)	High
Canned salmon	110 mg (90–135)	High
Cod	105 mg	High

Anchovies sit near the top of the fish list, alongside sardines. Oily fish like mackerel come in lower per 100 g.

Do the Omega-3s in Anchovies and Herring Help?

Anchovies and herring are rich in omega-3 fats. USDA FoodData Central lists about 1.4 g of EPA plus DHA per 100 g of raw anchovies and about 1.6 g in raw Atlantic herring.

That may partly offset the purines. In a 2019 Boston University study of 724 people with gout, eating two or more servings of omega-3-rich fish, a group that included anchovies and herring, in the previous 48 hours was linked to 26% lower odds of a flare (odds ratio 0.74), after accounting for total purine intake. Omega-3 supplements people took on their own showed no link.

But purine load still counts. A 2012 study that followed 633 people with gout for a year found that the highest two-day purine intakes were linked to nearly five times the odds of a recurrent attack, with animal purines carrying more risk than plant ones. And the American College of Rheumatology’s 2020 guideline conditionally recommends limiting purine intake for people with gout “regardless of disease activity.”

The balance: anchovies as a seasoning fit most gout diets; anchovies as the main event are a very big purine day.

How to Eat Anchovies if You Have Gout

• Use them as a seasoning. One to three fillets melted into a sauce, dressing or tapenade flavors a whole dish for several people.
• Count toppings. Five fillets on your share of a pizza is about 65 mg. See is pizza bad for gout for the rest of the slice.
• Skip them as a main. Fried fresh anchovies, boquerones and anchovy-heavy tapas plates are the servings that can reach 300 mg or more.
• Make them the only high-purine food of the meal, and drink water rather than beer.

If you log meals, an app like Urica can estimate the purines in a dish from a photo, including hidden ones like anchovy in a dressing.

Anchovies During a Flare vs. Between Flares

During a flare, skip anchovies, herring and dishes built on them, including dried-anchovy stocks, and skip alcohol. The priority is treatment: the ACR guideline strongly recommends colchicine, NSAIDs or glucocorticoids as first-line flare options, so start the plan your doctor gave you early. Our guide on how to stop a gout flare fast covers the rest.

Between flares, anchovies as a flavoring are fine for most people. Keep fresh anchovies or herring as a main to an occasional small portion, around 3 ounces, with nothing else high in purines that day.

Better Swaps for Anchovies

Instead of	Try	Purines per 100 g	Why it works
Anchovies on pizza	Olives or roasted red peppers	~8 / ~5 mg	Salty or sweet bite, low purines
Anchovies for savory depth in sauces	Parmesan	15 mg	Rich umami, low purines
Tinned anchovies on toast	Canned salmon	110 mg (90–135)	About 1 g of omega-3, a third of the purines
Anchovies for omega-3	Walnuts, as a top-up	20 mg	Plant omega-3 (ALA), not EPA or DHA

Fresh salmon (about 250 mg) is lower than anchovies, but it’s no longer a low-purine fish, so it’s not much of a swap. See our purine content in seafood chart for the full list.

The Bottom Line

Anchovies are one of the highest-purine fish, about 355 mg per 100 g fresh and 320 mg canned. What matters is the amount: a few fillets in a sauce or dressing add little, while a plate of fresh anchovies is a very high-purine meal. Herring measured lower in one analysis, but older tables list it much higher and canned herring measured about 380 mg, so treat it with the same caution. Use anchovies as a seasoning between flares, watch the salt, and skip them during a flare.

Sources

• USDA Agricultural Research Service. USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods.
• FitzGerald JD, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis Care & Research, 2020.
• Zhang M, et al. Effect of Dietary and Supplemental Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Risk of Recurrent Gout Flares. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2019.
• Zhang Y, et al. Purine-rich foods intake and recurrent gout attacks. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2012.
• Arthritis Foundation. Safe Foods for Gout.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk to your rheumatologist or healthcare provider about your specific situation.