Is Cod Bad for Gout? Purines, Portions and Fish and Chips
Cod has about 105 mg of purines per 100 g, still one of the lower-purine fish. How much fits a gout diet, what to watch in fish and chips, and smart swaps.
TL;DR
- Cod has about 105 mg of purines per 100 g, just over the line into the high band but still among the lowest of any fish. A 4-ounce (113 g) portion is roughly 119 mg.
- It’s one of the easiest fish to fit into a gout diet, but it has little omega-3. Oily fish like salmon supply omega-3s but carry more than twice the purines, so keep those portions modest.
- Most cod trouble comes from what surrounds it: oversized fillets, beer, deep-fried platters and salt cod. Poached, baked or grilled cod with vegetables is a solid choice between flares.
Cod is not bad for gout. At about 105 mg of purines per 100 g it’s one of the lower-purine fish you can eat, and a normal portion fits comfortably into most gout-friendly eating plans.
Where cod gets people into trouble is the company it keeps: a fillet twice the size you’d cook at home, a basket of fries and a pint of beer. Change those, and cod is one of the better proteins on the menu.
How Many Purines Are in Cod?
Our purine content in seafood chart lists raw cod at about 105 mg per 100 g. Here’s what that means for common portions:
| Cod portion (raw weight) | Purines |
|---|---|
| 100 g | 105 mg |
| 3 oz (85 g) | ~89 mg |
| 4 oz (113 g) | ~119 mg |
| 6 oz (170 g) fillet | ~179 mg |
| Fish sticks (breaded white fish), 100 g | 60 mg |
Our charts use four bands: low (under 50 mg per 100 g), moderate (50–100), high (100–200) and very high (over 200). The USDA and ODS-NIH purine database has two analyses of raw cod: about 110 mg per 100 g for Atlantic cod sampled in the US and about 98 mg in a Japanese analysis. Their median, about 105 mg, puts cod just over the line into the high band. Whichever figure you use, cod is roughly a 100 mg fish, near the bottom of the high band.
Cod is also very lean. USDA FoodData Central lists 100 g of raw Atlantic cod at about 82 calories, 18 g of protein and under 1 g of fat, so you get a lot of protein for the purines.
How Does Cod Compare With Other Fish?
| Fish | Purines per 100 g | Per 4 oz (113 g) | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monkfish | 70 mg (one analysis; older tables 105) | ~79 mg | High to moderate (thin data) |
| Sole* | 80 mg | ~90 mg | Moderate |
| Pollock* | 80 mg | ~90 mg | Moderate |
| Cod | 105 mg | ~119 mg | High |
| Flounder | 115 mg | ~130 mg | High |
| Halibut* | 125 mg | ~141 mg | High |
| Haddock* | 130 mg | ~147 mg | High |
| Tilapia | 185 mg | ~209 mg | High |
| Tuna, fresh | 185 mg | ~209 mg | High |
| Atlantic mackerel | 200 mg | ~226 mg | High |
| Salmon, farmed | 250 mg | ~283 mg | Very high |
*Not measured in the USDA and ODS-NIH purine database; values come from older tables.
Cod sits with the mild white fish at the low end, below raw chicken breast (about 160 mg) and well below farmed tilapia, salmon and the oily fish covered in is mackerel bad for gout.
You may see cod on some “avoid” lists. The Arthritis Foundation’s high-purine foods list, for example, includes codfish alongside anchovies and sardines. By the lab numbers, cod has under a third of the purines in anchovies and roughly 40% of those in raw sardines. Treating it as a food to portion, not free but not one to fear, fits the data better.
Is Cod as Good as Salmon for Gout?
On purines, cod wins clearly: about 105 mg per 100 g versus about 250 mg for farmed salmon. On omega-3s, it doesn’t: about 0.2 g per 100 g versus 2.3 g in farmed salmon.
That difference may matter. A 2023 analysis of 12,505 US adults in the NHANES survey split seafood into omega-3-poor types (including cod, tilapia, shrimp, crab and lobster) and omega-3-rich types (including salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout). Each extra ounce per day of omega-3-poor seafood was associated with 8.7% higher odds of gout, while omega-3-rich seafood showed no association.
It’s a cross-sectional snapshot, so it can’t show that cod causes gout, and people who eat a lot of fried white fish may differ in other ways. The practical takeaway isn’t to drop cod. It’s to mix it up: cod some nights, oily fish such as salmon others, keeping the salmon portion modest because it carries more than twice the purines. See is salmon bad for gout for the other half of that rotation.
Does Fresh, Frozen or Pacific Cod Make a Difference?
For purines, not much. Atlantic and Pacific cod are both mild, lean white fish, and freezing doesn’t add purines.
Sodium is where they can differ. Some frozen fillets are treated with sodium-containing additives that help them hold moisture. USDA FoodData Central lists raw Atlantic cod at about 54 mg of sodium per 100 g, but raw Pacific cod labeled as possibly previously frozen at about 303 mg, and a cooked Pacific cod entry flagged “may contain additives to retain moisture” at about 372 mg. That’s still far below processed meats, but if you’re watching blood pressure, check the ingredient list on frozen fish for added salt or phosphates, and choose plain fillets when you can.
Cod’s leanness is a quiet advantage too. It’s an easy protein to build meals around if you’re working on weight loss, which the ACR guideline conditionally recommends for people with gout who are overweight.
How Much Cod Is Reasonable?
- Portion: 4 to 6 ounces (113–170 g), or about 119–179 mg of purines.
- Frequency: between flares, cod can be a regular protein. It’s at or below most meat and shellfish in purines, as long as the portion stays sensible and it isn’t stacked with other high-purine foods.
- Watch restaurant sizes: order the smaller portion, share, or take half home.
- Drink water: the ACR’s 2020 gout guideline conditionally recommends limiting alcohol, purines and high-fructose corn syrup for people with gout, whether or not they’re having flares.
Cod During a Flare vs. Between Flares
During a flare, cod is one of the gentler fish, but it still carries about 105 mg of purines per 100 g. Keep any portion small (about 3 ounces), or lean on eggs, low-fat dairy and tofu for a few days. Skip alcohol and drink plenty of water unless your doctor limits fluids. Most importantly, start the treatment your doctor prescribed: the ACR guideline strongly recommends colchicine, NSAIDs or glucocorticoids as first-line flare treatment. Our guide on how to stop a gout flare fast walks through it.
Between flares, a 4- to 6-ounce portion with vegetables and a starch is a solid, low-drama meal.
Fish and Chips, Salt Cod and Other Cod Dishes
- Fish and chips: batter and fries add almost no purines, but restaurant fillets are often large, the meal is deep-fried, and beer is the usual pairing. Beer is one of the worst drink choices for gout (see is beer bad for gout). If you order it, go for the small size and water.
- Salt cod (bacalao, bacalhau): drying concentrates purines and salt. USDA FoodData Central lists dried salted Atlantic cod at about 7,000 mg of sodium per 100 g before soaking. Soak it well and keep portions modest.
- Cod milt (shirako): about 560 mg of purines per 100 g in a 2020 Japanese analysis, more than five times a cod fillet. Skip it.
- Chowder: purines dissolve into cooking liquid, so a fish-stock chowder carries some of the fish’s purines into the broth. A cup is fine; a bread bowl plus a fish main is a lot.
How to Cook Cod for Gout
- Poach or steam it. Purines are water-soluble. In a 2019 PeerJ study that boiled nine species of marine fish, purines moved out of the flesh and into the water within minutes; in turbot, hypoxanthine in the back muscle fell by about 70% after 15 minutes. Cod wasn’t one of the species tested, so treat that as a general principle rather than a cod-specific number, and pour the poaching liquid away.
- Bake or grill it with lemon, herbs, garlic and olive oil. Those methods don’t remove purines, but they don’t add any either.
- Skip sugary glazes such as honey-miso or sweet chili.
- Build the plate around low-purine sides: potatoes, rice, green vegetables, salad.
Better Cod Swaps
| Instead of | Try | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Fried fish and chips with beer | Baked cod, oven fries, sparkling water | Same flavors, no beer, less oil |
| A 10-oz restaurant fillet (~300 mg) | A 5-oz fillet plus extra vegetables (~150 mg) | Halves the purines |
| Cod every night | Cod alternating with a modest portion of salmon | Adds omega-3s (salmon is higher in purines) |
| Salt cod stew | Fresh cod stew | Far less sodium |
| Cod milt (shirako) | Cod fillet | About one-fifth of the purines |
If you want to go lower still, the options are thin. Monkfish measured about 70 mg in a single analysis, but older tables list it at about 105 mg, so treat it like cod rather than as a low-purine fish. Sole and pollock are listed at about 80 mg in older tables. Tilapia, often grouped with cod, measures much higher (about 185 mg) in current US analyses.
The Bottom Line
Cod is one of the best fish choices for gout: about 105 mg of purines per 100 g, lean, and high in protein. Keep portions to 4–6 ounces, cook it without sugary glazes, and skip the beer that tends to come with fish and chips. Because cod has almost no omega-3, alternate it with modest portions of oily fish like salmon rather than eating it to their exclusion. Save cod milt and salt cod for rare occasions, and keep portions small during a flare.
Sources
- FitzGerald JD, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis Care & Research, 2020.
- Zeng G, et al. n-3 PUFA poor seafood consumption is associated with higher risk of gout, whereas n-3 PUFA rich seafood is not: NHANES 2007–2016. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2023.
- USDA Agricultural Research Service. USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods.
- Arthritis Foundation. Safe Foods for Gout.
- Li T, et al. Optimization of extraction conditions and determination of purine content in marine fish during boiling. PeerJ, 2019.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk to your rheumatologist or healthcare provider about your specific situation.
Track Your Personal Response
Everyone responds differently to foods. Urica helps you track how specific foods affect YOUR flare patterns by analyzing purines, fructose, and glycemic load together — not just purines alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cod better than salmon for gout?
On purines, yes: cod has about 105 mg per 100 g versus about 250 mg for farmed salmon in current US analyses. But cod has very little omega-3, and in a large US survey analysis, omega-3-poor seafood such as cod was linked to higher odds of gout while omega-3-rich seafood such as salmon was not. That study can't prove cause, so the practical answer is to eat both in sensible portions and alternate them.
Is fish and chips OK if I have gout?
Occasionally, yes. The cod itself is one of the lower-purine fish (about 105 mg per 100 g), and batter and fries add almost no purines. The problems are the oversized restaurant fillet, the deep-fried meal as a whole, and the pint of beer that often comes with it. Order the smaller portion or share, drink water, and at home try baked cod with oven fries for the same flavors.
Is salt cod (bacalao) OK for gout?
Treat it with more care than fresh cod. Drying concentrates purines along with everything else, and USDA data list dried salted cod at about 7,000 mg of sodium per 100 g before soaking. Soaking in several changes of water removes much of the salt, but there's little published purine data on rehydrated salt cod, so keep portions modest and make it the only high-purine food of the meal.
Is cod roe or cod milt OK for gout?
They're different stories. There's little data on cod roe specifically, but mixed-species fish roe averaged about 80 mg of purines per 100 g in the USDA and ODS-NIH purine database, a little below a cod fillet. Cod milt (shirako), the male reproductive gland eaten as a delicacy in Japan, measured about 560 mg per 100 g in a 2020 Japanese analysis. That's organ-meat territory, so it's best skipped.