What is Gout ?
The damp fall weather seems to aggravate a lot of health conditions including gout ! Characterized by swelling, excruciating pain and tenderness in the extremities, gout usually affects the knees, ankles, foot joints , hands , wrist , fingers and elbows. Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by a buildup of uric acid. This uric acid buildup is also known as hyperuricemia, the medical name for high uric acid in your blood. If you have gout, high uric acid can form crystals in your joints. When that happens, it can lead to inflammation that causes extremely painful gout attacks.
Causes of Gout:
Old school of thought was that “Diet” caused gout ! Indeed, centuries ago it was called the disease of kings and associated with rich foods eaten by the wealthy. Now we know that is just a food myth. Like every other disease , some people are more prone to gout than others. Genetic make up, family history, how your body handles uric acid build up can all be causes. In some people, uric acid builds up in the blood because their body produces too much of it. In the rest ( about 90%), the kidneys don’t eliminate uric acid efficiently, causing it to build up.
Treatment:
Although diet alone is not the “key” to managing gout, it can make a huge difference in managing symptoms. Purine rich foods must be avoided to reduce build up of uric acid. In addition having a healthy weight, exercising , drinking a lot of non alcoholic fluids to help the kidney flush efficiently can help lessen severity of gout.
Foods to avoid
These are basically “purine rich foods ” which lead to formation of uric acid. Keep in mind that 2/3 of uric acid is produced naturally by the body while only 1/3 is from food.
Avoid these foods ( Very high in uric acid)
Organ meats, liver, spleen, canned fish, canned tuna, mackerel, anchovies, smoked meats, haddock, halibut, beef , liverwurst, bacon, scallops,luncheon meats,sausage, venison and any other game meats.
Decrease consumption of these food ( moderately high in uric acid )
Chicken, other fish, black gram dhal, meat gravies,
Lower purine meats : Short of asking you go vegan or veggie, I can suggest consuming meats like pork, veal , cray fish, corned beef which are lower in purine than other meats. Limit your intake to 4 to 6 ounces/ day. Go veggie for one meal. Click here for a complete list of purine content in foods.
Other Dietary guidelines
Limit saturated fat : Saturated fat lowers the body’s ability to eliminate uric acid. Scan labels for signs of saturated fat and trans fat. Healthy fats like monounsaturated fats ( found in olive oil, vegetable oils, avocado ) are safe. Get your protein from beans, legumes and soybeans and eat low-fat dairy. Just a note : purine is found in fish flesh, not fish oil, so as long as your fish oil is from a purified, good source it is alright.
Limit or avoid alcohol : alcohol again interferes with the elimination of uric acid. Beer in particular is a strong interfering agent. The safest alcohol when you don’t have an attack is red wine in moderation.
Foods that help Gout
Water : Hydrate ! You help your kidneys get rid of uric acid and other toxins when you drink up ! Aim for 8
to 12 glasses a day. The more you drink, the more uric acid you will excrete making it so much easier on your body. Drinking water has so many other benefits as well ! Read my post on hydration to see what counts as a fluid.
Lemon juice : Lemon juice is mildly acidic and high in potassium and citrate, an ingredient that helps prevent the crystallization of uric acid into urate kidney stones and gout. Spike water with lemon juice.
Saffron or curicumin: Foods with saffron or curicumin aka turmeric can help neutralize uric acid. This is a powerful antioxidant that adds flavor to recipes. Read my post on curicumin power to get some ideas to add curicumin in your diet. Add it to cooked salads, curries, soups etc. You can also add saffron strands to hot low-fat milk . It makes a yummy flavored beverage.
Cherries : Cherries and cherry juice have been used for centuries to treat gout. The secret
behind cherries’ gout-fighting powers isn’t entirely understood but studies have shown lowered attacks of gout on people who consume cherries or cherry juice or cherry extract on a regular basis. It could be the high vitamin C or the anti-inflammatory properties of the cherry that contribute to this. Since cherries are such a lovely fruit beneficial for so many other ailments as well, just eat it and see. It may help your gout 🙂 !
Apart from these diet tips, generally eating a high fiber, low processed, complex carbohydrate diet with an emphasis on whole grain and veggies is a good bet for anyone suffering from gout. Be your own guide. When the pain hits, go easy on high purine foods and drink lots of water.
Do you have any natural foods or remedies that you have for gout ? Please share. Would love to hear from you !
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References
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cherries-cut-gout-pain/story?id=17348045#.UIWO2m871WI
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
As always, great post! That was really interesting. It’s no surprise to me that the whole myth of the reasons/causes of gout are being de-bunked, as is the case health problems usually have many contributing factors, not just one alone. I’m a big believer that food and diet can be a beneficial healer.
The whole you are what you eat myth was a hard one for me to let go of. My new school if thought, especially since my son’s Autism diagnosis, is you are what your body can process, or breakdown. My son is on an extremely restrictive diet because his body can not breakdown proteins and process them through his system (methylation). While dietary changes have not “cured” his Autism, it has alleviated some of the symptoms, and he has made amazing physical and emotional strides. So I’m a believer.
Now I’ve gotten off track, sorry for my sermon, and thanks, my friend:)
No, you didn’t get off track. Thanks for sharing. So true. It’s all in the way a certain body type responds to certain chemicals & nutrients. Have a strong family history of Diabetes myself so even though am careful I am boderline. My body just can’t handle sugar in certain quantities which are normal for others. All the best with your son. As you said, dietary changes can ease and alleviate but won’t create magic & natural foods are always harmless. Thanks for stopping by Cari 🙂
Daily intake of diary products associated with lower uric acid. Apart from that as you mentioned in your post about cherries. There is significant decrease in uric acid after three hours of eating cherries.
Low fat diary products I guess. Will look into that. Thanks for sharing ! Cherries are the new black for so many aliments 🙂 That is great stats indeed ~ Thanks for stopping by Ashley !
Good tips ! Dad has Gout and sometimes feel like am getting the signs LOL ! I eat veggie a lot, so hope that helps ! Good you cleared up the myth that it’s diet related. Sure diet helps but some people are more prone to it. Will share this with my dad. Thanks.
Eating lotsa veggie is definately a safe gaurd against having a build up of uric acid in the blood. You also excersize and that’s another plus ! Hope it helps your dad !
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Hey thanks for the very informative article. It will definitely be helpfull for many including myself.
One thing i would like to share is which i experienced a few months back and is great for uric acid sufferers
TAKE ONE REDDISH (Approx 8 inches long) slice it and squeeze one small lemon on it & eat it first thing in the morning. The reddish is strong in flavour and lemon adds up but all you have to do is eat it for seven days only, wait for anotjer seven days and then go for a blood test. Yes only seven days and by the grace of GOD ALMIGHTY uric acid will decrease big time and gout pain and swelling will be relieved.
Do not eat beef and lentils and high purine foods during these two weeks. (Tip: chew the redsish as much as possible and u will only have to bear a couple of burps, otherwise the reddish will make u burp till the afternoon)