Technorati Profile

GOUT DIET

Gout is a very painful form of arthritis caused by too much uric acid buildup in the body. Gout can cause a painful swelling in your joints, particularly and especially the big toe. The big toe appears to be a favorite target of gout. Most people experience an outbreak of gout when they are awakened by a large, red swollen toe. You can have large amounts of uric acid in the blood and never experience an outbreak.

So how can we cure gout, or how can we minimize gout's symptoms? Let's start with the basic cause, uric acid. How can we lower the amount of uric acid in the body? We can do this two ways. The first way is to make sure we don't ingest foods that will raise our level of uric acid (high level purines). The second way is to allow the body to excrete the excess uric acid, or somehow stimulate the removal of uric acid from the body. Let's look a bit at foods.

Can the wrong foods cause gout? The simple answer is that certain foods will elevate the uric acid content in your blood which can bring on an attack. Foods that contain high levels of purines should be avoided. Surprisingly, foods that are high in purines come from all food groups. Even some vegetables are high in purines. Certain meats are high in purines. Examples include liver, kidneys, and sweetbreads. Seafood that contains high levels of purines include shellfish. Lobsters, shrimp, sardines and anchovies are high in purines and should be avoided. Vegetables that have high levels of purines include asparagus, legumes, beans and peanuts, cauliflower and spinach. Another thing to avoid is drinking alcohol, particularly beer. Beer is high in purines and should be consumed in moderation if at all.

We started our discussion of how to cure gout by limiting the foods that can cause gout. Our second approach to curing gout is assisting the body to excrete more uric acid. How can we do this? The body is capable of excreting a certain amount of uric acid. When we help by ingesting foods that are low in purines, the body can catch up and lower the uric acid level in the body. It is important to drink lots of water during this process. Drinking lots of water helps dilute the uric acid in the body and helps the kidneys excrete it. Vitamin C can help release the uric acid that is in the body's tissues. Care must be taken to take low doses throughout the day to prevent a spike in uric acid. Flavonoids can also help to reduce uric acid levels. Blueberries and cherries contain high levels of flavonoids and can help the body reduce the uric acid level.

We may not be able to cure gout, but as we've already seen, we can alleviate the symptoms by reducing the uric acid level in the body. To recap, we should eat foods low in purines, refrain from consuming alcohol, drink lots of water, and take Vitamin C and blueberry and/or cherry extracts.