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Table Sugar (white)

Table Sugar (white) is fine in moderation. Watch your portion size, especially during a flare. A typical 8 g serving is essentially purine-free. It also carries about 4 g of fructose per serving, which raises uric acid on its own.

General information, not a substitute for advice from your doctor or dietitian.

This is a concentrated source of sugar: high in fructose, which raises uric acid on its own. A small amount is fine, but it is easy to overdo, so we do not rate it as safe to eat freely. The fructose figure counts both free fructose and the fructose released from sucrose.

This purine value is inferred, not measured directly for this food. See the sources note below for how it was derived.

How much can I eat?

Units
This serving
1 tbsp
8 g
Purine / serving
0 mg
% daily purine
0%
Fructose / serving
4 g
Purines in this serving
0 mg~400 mg daily limit
Fructose in this serving4 g · 32% of our daily reference

Added fructose raises uric acid on its own, so keep sugary foods and drinks small.

How we count fructose

This is the fructose, not the total sugar: it counts free fructose plus half of sucrose, so a sucrose-sweetened product carries roughly twice this much sugar overall.

Evidence: Ayoub-Charette et al., J Nutr 2021 (fructose by food source) · White et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2018 (whole apple vs. a fructose drink, matched dose)

1 tbsp1 oz

Purines are not the limit here: even a large serving stays well under a day's purines. The sugar is what climbs with the portion.

Table Sugar (white) fits in moderation, so portion is the thing to get right.

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Why grade C

Added fructose raises uric acid as your body breaks it down, even when the purine number looks low.

Added fructose trigger
Per 100 g and processing

Per 100 g (for comparison)

Purines Estimated
0 mg/100g
LowModerateHighVery high

Low for gout (< 50 mg/100g).

Fructose Estimated
49.9 g/100g
LowModerateHighVery high

Very high for gout (> 15 g/100g).

Processing: NOVA 2 of 4 (processed culinary ingredient). How processing affects the grade.

Good to know: Pure sucrose, negligible purine. Free fructose 0 and sucrose 99.8 g/100g from USDA FDC (Sugars, granulated). Fructose load counts half of sucrose.
Diet is part of the picture, not all of it

For most people the body makes the majority of its own uric acid. Food contributes the smaller share. Eating well lowers your risk and helps you feel in control, but for many people diet alone does not bring uric acid down enough to stop flares. Medication often does the heavy lifting. Use these grades to make easier daily choices, and work with your doctor on the full plan.

How did table sugar (white) go for you?

Reader experiences, not medical advice. The grade above comes from published data.

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