[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Nothing says monsoon season quite like a golden-fried pajeon and a bowl of cold makgeolli. The combination is so beloved it has earned the nickname "the national pairing" — but for anyone watching their health, it may be worth keeping at arm's length. Those concerned about gout or lifestyle diseases should be particularly careful.

Makgeolli can harm gout sufferers. Alcohol in general interferes with the body's ability to excrete uric acid. Because the kidneys prioritize processing alcohol, uric acid cannot be flushed out efficiently and tends to accumulate in the bloodstream. Makgeolli compounds the problem: as a fermented beverage, it retains active yeast and is relatively high in purines. Purines break down into uric acid during digestion, and elevated uric acid levels can raise the risk of a gout attack.

Dehydration from drinking adds another layer of risk. When the body is short on fluids, uric acid concentrations in the blood rise further — a potentially dangerous situation for gout sufferers. In practice, makgeolli ranks alongside beer as one of the drinks gout patients are advised to avoid as much as possible.

Pajeon is no safer. Green onions, the main ingredient, are rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, but the calorie count climbs sharply once wheat-flour batter and generous amounts of cooking oil enter the picture. Adding seafood such as squid, shrimp and oysters increases purine intake further, and a soy-sauce dipping condiment means sodium consumption is far from negligible.

Ultimately, the pajeon-and-makgeolli combination pairs high-calorie food with alcohol. A single pajeon can exceed 700 to 1,000 kilocalories depending on the ingredients, while a 750-milliliter bottle of makgeolli contains roughly 400 to 500 kilocalories. Together, the two can easily account for more than half of an adult's recommended daily caloric intake in a single sitting.

The concern goes beyond calories. Eating fatty food alongside alcohol tends to raise triglyceride levels, and repeated indulgence can increase the risk of abdominal obesity, fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome. Add elevated sodium intake to the mix, and blood pressure management suffers as well.


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