Does A Gout Prevention Diet Work?

                

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You've woken in the small hours of the morning in screaming agony - your big toe is red, hot and extremely swollen. So painful that the weight of your bedding is unbearable. It could be gout and what a lot of sufferers want to know is will a gout prevention diet stop a further attack?

Doesn't seem very likely does it, that what you eat can cause such excruciating joint pain? However, for a lot of gout sufferers this is the case.

To understand why diet can bring on and also prevent an attack you need to first understand what causes gout.

Gout is caused by the build up of uric acid crystals in the spaces and inter-connecting tissues between the joints. It usually flares up in the feet and ankle joints. This is because uric acid is sensitive to temperature and will form crystals in a cooler environment. Your feet are the furthest point from your heart and therefore cooler than the rest of your body. This is why your feet and ankle joints are the most common spots for gout, although it can strike in any joint.

Uric acid is a natural by-product that is found in the blood. It is produced when a compound called purine is broken down. Purine is found in the body and also in a lot of food that we eat, but mainly animal protein.

The body is designed to deal with uric acid by dissolving it in the blood stream and eliminating it via the kidneys or bowels. Gout becomes a very real possibility when the production of uric acid exceeds the levels that are being eliminated from the body.

A raised uric acid level in the blood is called hyperuricema and this is what leads to the crystallization of uric acid, and the deposits in the joints.

So, how can gout prevention diet help?

One of the ways to control gout is to control the amount of uric acid produced. As mentioned earlier, uric acid is formed during the breakdown of purines and this is where diet can play a big part in your gout prevention strategy.

Limiting or avoiding foods that have a high purine level will allow the levels of uric acid in the blood to stabilize and the kidneys to catch up on the elimination process.

The key concept behind a gout prevention diet is to bring the body back into balance and to minimize uric acid production. This means a low fat, low protein diet.

Proteins are high in purines, and should be avoided. But there are some that are higher purine that others, like animal proteins, organ meats, fish, gravies, pulses and yeast extracts.

Also, avoid low carb diets and going on 'crash' diets as these will have the opposite effect and raise uric acid levels; an open invitation for a gout flare-up to strike.

For more information about gout prevention diets and some sample recipes please visit our site and sign up for the free gout prevention newsletter.

Gout prevention diets don't have to be boring. Once you have your gout under control you can start to reintroduce some more protein based foods, but the trick is to do it in moderation.

By Lisa McDowell. Sign up for a free newsletter & discover how a gout prevention diet can be an effective natural cure for gout.