Are Walnuts Bad for Gout? Walnuts, Cashews and Other Nuts

TL;DR

• No. Walnuts measure about 20 mg of purines per 100 g, roughly 6 mg per 1-ounce handful. Cashews are listed at about 40 mg (about 11 mg per ounce). Both are in the Low band.
• In observational studies, people who eat more nuts tend to have lower odds of high uric acid. That’s an association, not proof that nuts lower it.
• The catches are calories and coatings. An ounce of walnuts has about 185 calories, and honey-roasted or candied nuts add sugar.

Walnuts aren’t bad for gout. They’re one of the lowest-purine snacks you can eat, and nuts in general are a better snack choice for gout than meat snacks, chips or sweets.

Cashews are a little higher in purines than walnuts, but still in the Low band. The things to watch with any nut are the portion, the salt and anything sugary on the outside.

How many purines are in walnuts and cashews?

Walnuts have one lab analysis in the USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods (Release 2, 2025), at about 20 mg per 100 g. Cashews and most other tree nuts haven’t been analyzed for the database; their figures come from older tables, which Urica uses consistently. Use them to rank foods, not to count to the milligram.

Nut or seed	Per 100 g	Per 1 oz (28 g)	Band	Lab data
Walnuts	~20 mg	~6 mg	Low	1 analysis
Macadamias	~20 mg	~6 mg	Low	Not in the database
Pecans	~25 mg	~7 mg	Low	Not in the database
Hazelnuts	~25 mg	~7 mg	Low	Not in the database
Brazil nuts	~25 mg	~7 mg	Low	Not in the database
Almonds	~30 mg	~9 mg	Low	1 analysis
Pistachios	~30 mg	~9 mg	Low	Not in the database
Cashews	~40 mg	~11 mg	Low	Not in the database
Peanuts (a legume)	~50 mg	~14 mg	Moderate (bottom edge)	1 analysis
Chia seeds	~60 mg	~17 mg	Moderate	1 analysis

Our bands: Low under 50 mg per 100 g, Moderate 50–100, High 100–200, Very high over 200.

For scale, a 4-ounce raw chicken breast carries about 180 mg of purines (published analyses of raw breast range from about 130 to 290 mg per 100 g). A handful of walnuts is about 6. Even a generous 2-ounce serving of cashews comes in around 23 mg.

Peanuts sit right on the line between Low and Moderate; see are peanuts bad for gout. Almonds get their own guide in are almonds bad for gout.

Walnuts vs cashews: which is better for gout?

Both are low in purines, so the choice comes down to everything else. Per 1-ounce serving, from USDA FoodData Central:

Per 1 oz (28 g)	Calories	Protein	Fat	Plant omega-3 (ALA)	Fiber	Sugar	Magnesium
Walnuts (about 14 halves)	185	4.3 g	18.5 g	2.6 g	1.9 g	0.7 g	45 mg
Cashews, raw	157	5.2 g	12.4 g	under 0.1 g	0.9 g	1.7 g	83 mg
Almonds (about 23)	164	6.0 g	14.2 g	trace	3.5 g	1.2 g	77 mg

A few differences worth knowing:

• Walnuts stand out for ALA, the plant form of omega-3, with about 2.6 g per ounce. Cashews and almonds have almost none. ALA isn’t the same as the EPA and DHA in fatty fish, and the gout-flare research linking omega-3s to fewer flares (Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2019) looked at fish, not walnuts. Don’t count on walnuts to prevent flares.
• Cashews have fewer calories and less fat per ounce, and nearly twice the magnesium.
• Neither carries meaningful fructose, the sugar tied to uric acid. Cashews’ small amount of sugar is mostly sucrose, which works out to under 1 g of fructose per ounce.
• Salt is the hidden difference. Cashews are often sold salted. USDA lists salted dry-roasted cashews at about 181 mg of sodium per ounce, versus about 5 mg unsalted.

On balance, walnuts edge ahead for heart-healthy fats and cashews for magnesium and calories. For gout, both are fine.

Do walnuts and other nuts lower uric acid?

Nobody has shown that in a trial. But the observational research leans in nuts’ favor:

• A 2024 meta-analysis of observational studies found that people with higher nut intake had about 25% lower odds of hyperuricemia (high uric acid; odds ratio 0.75).
• A study of 14,056 Chinese university students compared intakes of different nuts. Those who ate the most walnuts had 22% lower odds of hyperuricemia, but the result wasn’t statistically significant. Pine nuts showed a clearer link (29% lower odds). It was a cross-sectional study, so it shows an association at one point in time, not cause and effect.

These studies can’t separate nuts from the rest of a healthier diet. People who snack on walnuts may also eat less processed meat or drink fewer sugary drinks. Nuts are also one of the food groups in the DASH eating pattern, which large studies link to lower gout risk.

The safe conclusion: walnuts won’t lower uric acid on their own, but swapping them in for higher-purine or sugary snacks moves your diet in the right direction.

Can walnuts help with weight?

Possibly, and weight matters for gout. The American College of Rheumatology’s 2020 guideline conditionally recommends weight loss for people with gout who are overweight.

Nuts are calorie-dense, but in three large US cohorts followed for 20 to 24 years, people who increased their walnut intake by half a serving a day (14 g) gained about 0.37 kg less per 4-year period, and had a lower risk of obesity. Swapping nuts for red meat, processed meat, fries, desserts or chips was linked to less weight gain. Two authors were partly funded by walnut and peanut industry groups, which the paper disclosed. See gout and weight loss for the bigger picture.

How to eat walnuts and cashews with gout

• Portion: about 1 ounce, roughly 14 walnut halves or a small handful of cashews. Pre-portion them so you don’t eat from the bag.
• Pick plain or dry-roasted. Honey-roasted, candied and chocolate-coated nuts add sugar. Unsalted is better if you’re watching blood pressure.
• Breakfast: stir walnuts into oatmeal or yogurt with fresh berries; see is oatmeal good for gout.
• Salads and grain bowls: a tablespoon or two of chopped walnuts or cashews adds crunch.
• Trail mix: keep it mostly nuts. Mixes heavy on dried fruit pack a lot of fructose; see are dates bad for gout.

If you’re trying to cut back on meat snacks, nuts are one of the easiest swaps:

Instead of	Try	Purines (approx.)
Beef jerky, 1 oz	Walnuts, 1 oz	~45 mg down to ~6 mg
Salami, 1 oz	Cashews, 1 oz	~60 mg down to ~11 mg
Honey-roasted nuts	Plain or dry-roasted nuts	Same purines, less sugar
Salted cashews	Unsalted cashews	Same purines, far less sodium

For more on jerky, see is beef jerky bad for gout.

If you want to see how snacks fit into your week, an app like Urica can log them alongside meals and flares.

The Bottom Line

Walnuts aren’t bad for gout. At about 20 mg of purines per 100 g, roughly 6 mg per handful, they’re among the lowest-purine snacks around. Cashews are listed at about 40 mg, still Low. Observational studies link higher nut intake to lower odds of high uric acid, though no trial shows nuts lower it directly. Keep portions to about an ounce for calorie reasons, choose plain over honey-roasted or candied, go unsalted when you can, and use nuts to replace meat snacks and sweets rather than to add to them.

Sources

• USDA and ODS-NIH. Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2 (2025).
• USDA FoodData Central. Nuts, walnuts, english.
• Chi X, et al. Effects of dietary factors on hyperuricaemia and gout: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2024.
• Wang C, et al. Nut intake and hyperuricemia risk in young adults. Public Health Nutrition, 2021.
• Liu X, et al. Changes in nut consumption influence long-term weight change in US men and women. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019.

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