Foods To Eat When You Have Gout
Gout is a metabolic disorder that manifests as a type of extreme inflammatory arthritis. Often beginning with a sharp pain in the big toe, gout occurs when the body cannot properly process uric acid, leading to painful uric crystals accumulating in the joints.
When you have a condition as strongly influenced by diet as gout is, it becomes easy to get caught up in what you cant eat, instead of focusing on the things you can. Purines are an organic compound associated with gout flare-ups because they cause the body to produce higher amounts of uric acid. Foods that contain purines tend to be high-fat or yeasty products. While managing your diet can help control your gout, your food choices should not be centered only around avoiding purines. You should be trying to eat proactively at the same timefinding foods that will help keep your gout in check.
These 15 foods could help fight off gout attacks to live a happier life.
Five Ways To Ease A Gout Attack
If you have gout, you know what its like to suffer from a flare-up. Also known as gouty arthritis, a gout attack begins with a burning or itching feeling in your joints. The next sign is redness, swelling, or severe pain in the joint. This is caused by a buildup of uric acid around the joints, which forms uncomfortable uric crystals. This condition can be so painful that anything touching the jointeven a bedsheetcan cause severe pain.
If you are suffering from a gout attack or flare-up, you dont need to agonize alone or in silence. There are a few things you can do to ease the pain and prevent future flare-ups.
Over-the-counter treatments.
Several over-the-counter treatments can help relieve the pain caused by a gout attack. These nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lower uric acid levels and treat episodes of inflammation. Some good choices include Aleve, Motrin, and Advil, and, when taken in prescription doses, can be very effective.
Contact Carolina Arthritis for guidance and to learn more about this strategy for your gout attacks.
Change your diet.
Many dietary and lifestyle changes can assist in recovery. Foods high in purines can increase the uric acid in your blood and trigger a gout flare-up. Some of these foods include:
- Some seafood
Make an appointment with Carolina Arthritis.
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Warning Signs Of A Gout Flare
Some people with gout, also known as gouty arthritis, say an attack begins with a burning, itching, or tingling feeling in a joint maybe an hour or two before the flare-up starts. The joint may feel a little stiff or a bit sore. Not long after, the telltale signs of gout begin. If you get repeated attacks, you’ll learn your body’s signals that one is about to begin.
Sometimes, people with gout have no early signs that a flare is about to start. They may just wake up in the middle of the night with a very painful joint.
When the flare starts, most people have redness, swelling, and severe pain, usually in one joint. The most common place for gout is the base of the big toe, but it can happen in other joints such as the elbow, knee, wrist, ankle, and instep.
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What Else Should I Ask My Healthcare Provider About Gout
Consider asking your healthcare provider:
- What is causing the gout?
- Do I have any joint damage?
- What can I do to prevent future attacks?
- Can any gout medications help me?
- How long will I need to take gout medications?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Gout is a painful form of arthritis. Extra uric acid in your body creates sharp crystals in the joints, leading to swelling and extreme tenderness. Gout usually starts in the big toe but can affect other joints. Gout is a treatable condition, and the uric acid level can be decreased by medication and lifestyle changes. Talk to your healthcare provider about medications that can reduce uric acid levels. They can also discuss changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle to prevent and reduce gout attacks.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 11/15/2020.
References
Who Is At Risk For Gout
Anyone can be affected by gout.
Gout is most common in middle-aged men, especially those with a family history of the disease. Women can get gout, too, most often after menopause.
Your chances of developing gout are higher if you:
- Are overweight
- Drink too much alcohol, especially beer
- Eat a diet rich in meat and fish, which can be high in chemicals called purines
- Take certain medicines, like water pills , that can trigger an attack
Recent research also indicates that genetics may play a big role in determining who gets gout. Ask your doctor if you have questions about your risk for developing this condition.
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How Does Food Affect Gout
If you have gout, certain foods may trigger an attack by raising your uric acid levels.
Trigger foods are commonly high in purines, a substance found naturally in foods. When you digest purines, your body makes uric acid as a waste product .
This is not a concern for healthy people, as they efficiently remove excess uric acid from the body.
However, people with gout cant efficiently remove excess uric acid. Thus, a high-purine diet may let uric acid accumulate and cause a gout attack (
10 ).
Foods that commonly trigger gout attacks include organ meats, red meats, seafood,alcohol and beer. They contain a moderate-to-high amount of purines .
However, there is one exception to this rule. Research shows that high-purine vegetables do not trigger gout attacks .
And interestingly, fructose and sugar-sweetened beverages can increase the risk of gout and gout attacks, even though theyre not purine-rich (
16 ).
For instance, a study including over 125,000 participants found that people who consumed the most fructose had a 62% higher risk of developing gout .
On the other hand, research shows that low-fat dairy products, soy products and vitamin C supplements may help prevent gout attacks by reducing blood uric acid levels (
Summary: Foods can either raise or lower your uric acid levels, depending on their purine content. However, fructose can raise your uric acid levels even though it is not purine-rich.
How Is Gout Treated
Gout can be effectively treated and managed with medical treatment and self-management strategies. Your health care provider may recommend a medical treatment plan to
- Manage the pain of a flare. Treatment for flares consists of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, steroids, and the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine.
- Prevent future flares. Making changes to your diet and lifestyle, such as losing weight, limiting alcohol, eating less purine-rich food , may help prevent future attacks. Changing or stopping medications associated with hyperuricemia may also help.
- Prevent tophi and kidney stones from forming as a result of chronic high levels of uric acid. Tophi are hard, uric acid deposits under the skin. For people with frequent acute flares or chronic gout, doctors may recommend preventive therapy to lower uric acid levels in the blood using drugs like allopurinol, febuxostat, and pegloticase.
In addition to medical treatment, you can manage your gout with self-management strategies. Self-management is what you do day to day to manage your condition and stay healthy, like making healthy lifestyle choices. The self-management strategies described below are proven to reduce pain and disability, so you can pursue the activities important to you.
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What Are The Risk Factors For Gout
Risk factors for gout include:
- being male
- taking medications that increase water excretion by the kidneys
- being overweight
- eating a diet with a lot of meat, offal and shellfish
- having kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or abnormal levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood
- drinking a lot of alcohol, especially beer, port or spirits
- going on a crash diet or fasting
- being of Maori or Pacific Islander origin, which can predispose a person to high uric acid levels
Gout is more common in men than in women, and among women it’s more common after menopause. It’s more likely to occur in older people, but can affect anyone.
It can also affect people with certain types of blood disorder and people in treatment for cancer.
Can You Remove Gout
It should be fairly evident why youd need to get gone gout, but is it possible truly?
Sure is definitely, but theres not just a one-size suits all solution.
In the next section, well be exceeding whats worked greatest for us!
You wont want to lose out on this free video tutorial.
NOTICE: Id highly recommend going to your doctor or seeing a specialist about this situation, since we arent experts. See our medical disclaimer for more details.
We dont know what will work for you, but we know whats worked for us and others
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Home Remedies To Relieve Gout Pain
Gout is a metabolic disease caused by excess uric acid in the blood, which often causes swelling, inflammation, a burning feeling and intense pain crisis. This usually affects the joints, occurring most often in the feet and knees. In addition to timely medical treatment it is possible to reduce severe pain experienced in gout attacks with some natural products. If you need to find effective solutions, do not miss the following OneHowTo article on home remedies to relieve gout pain.
Bicarbonate soda
When facing a gout attack in which pain in the affected joint is very intense, bicarbonate of soda can be an excellent home remedy for relief. This is a product which favours the dissolution of crystals of uric acid, prevents fluid retention and decreases the specific ailments of this condition. Just add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda in a glass of water, mix well and drink before bedtime. You’ll see how the symptoms of gout slow down.
Cold to the area
Applying cold to the affected limb is a good home remedy to relieve gout pain as it is perfect for reducing inflammation and swelling. Place an ice pack or cold compress directly on the joint for 15 minutes approximately.
Horsetail
Celery
Lavender essential oil
Changes in the diet
Also, there are other foods you can eat if you have gout that will help your condition and reduce its symptoms.
Dos And Dont For Gout
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How Does The Alkaline Diet Help Gout
So what does the alkaline diet have to do with gout? It raises the pH of urine, which increases the elimination of uric acid from your body 2.
So what does the alkaline diet have to do with gout?
- It raises the pH of urine, which increases the elimination of uric acid from your body 2.
- Less sodium and more potassium in the alkaline diet tends to prevent high amounts of uric acid 1.
- It contains substantially less purines, the compounds found in high amounts in animal products that form uric acid.
- It eliminates animal products, which decreases uric acid excretion in urine 3.
- It benefits kidney function the kidneys are responsible for processing uric acid 4.
Exclusive Bonus! Download the FREE report 12 Top Ways to Fight Gout & Ease The Pain by .
When To Get Help For A Gout Flare
It’s always a good idea to let your doctor know that you are having a flare. Sometimes, you may need to follow up to make sure your treatment plan is working or if your symptoms don’t improve. Call your doctor if:
This is your first flare-up. There are several other conditions, such as a joint infection, that have some of the same symptoms as gout attacks.
You have a highfever and chills. Gout attack symptoms may include a mild fever, but a higher temperature may be a sign of an infection.
Your symptoms don’t get any better after 48 hours or don’t end after about a week. If you don’t start to feel somewhat better after a few days, call your doctor. They may suggest a different treatment. Most gout attacks will go away by themselves in several weeks, even without treatment.
Show Sources
Rebecca Manno, MD, MHS, assistant professor of medicine, division of rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Robert T. Keenan, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, division of rheumatology and immunology, Duke University School of Medicine.
Scott Zashin, MD, clinical professor of medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School attending physician, Presbyterian Hospital.
Lan Chen, MD, PhD, attending rheumatologist, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Gout and Pseudogout Treatment & Management: “Treatment.”
Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center: “Gout — Treatments for Gout.”
Merck Manual: “Gout.”
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How To Handle Your First Gout Attack
After a first attack of gout, its OK to try to stave off another one with dietary changes alone. But if you have another attack, its important to start taking preventive gout medications on a regular basis. Long-term medications for gout include allopurinol and febuxostat, both of which limit uric acid production.
Some patients, says Dr. Fields, treat each attack as a separate event and dont talk to their doctors about doing a preventive approach. He uses the analogy of lighting a book of matches. If you have one match lit, its easy to put out, but if you have the whole book lit, its a lot harder.
Who Can Take Allopurinol
Allopurinol is often recommended as the first choice of treatment to control gout. If your doctor prescribes it as soon as you are diagnosed, it may prevent future attacks and joint damage.
You will usually be offered allopurinol if blood tests show that your urate level is high enough for urate crystals to form, especially if one or more of the following applies:
- you are having frequent attacks of gout.
- your joints have been damaged by gout.
- your skin has visible deposits of urate crystals. These are firm white lumps, which are called tophi.
You may not be offered allopurinol, or you may be given a lower dose, if you:
- have ever had an allergic reaction to allopurinol.
- are currently having an attack of gout.
- have problems with your liver or kidneys.
- are of Han Chinese, Thai or Korean origin.
- have thyroid problems.
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How Is It Taken
Allopurinol is taken as a tablet once a day. It is usually better to take it just after eating and the tablet should be swallowed with water. It is important to drink plenty of water during the day because this will help you get rid of more urate through your kidneys.
Your dose of allopurinol may change over time, depending on the amount of urate in your body. Your doctor will monitor your urate levels with blood tests every 2-4 weeks, until they are sure that the dose that youre taking is high enough to reduce the amount of urate in your body.
You may need to remain on a lower dose if you have kidney or liver problems.
Your doctor may recommend that you do not start taking allopurinol until after an attack of gout has passed to avoid triggering further attacks. If this is not possible, it may be started when your inflammation is not too bad.
Allopurinol doesnt treat the immediate pain caused by attacks of gout. But its a long-term treatment to get rid of the urate crystals which causes gout attacks.
It is likely that you will need to take allopurinol for the rest of your life to manage your urate levels. You should keep taking allopurinol even if:
- you are experiencing more gout attacks, or it doesnt seem to help the pain and inflammation at first
- you stop having gout attacks stopping your treatment can cause urate crystals to form again, which will lead to more gout attacks.
- etoricoxib
Myth: There Arent Effective Medicines For Gout
Truth: Many medications put the brakes on gout. Some control pain and inflammation immediately and others get at the root cause by eliminating the deposited uric acid crystals.
Colchicine is prescribed for acute gout flare-ups. A plant extract, its been used to treat gout for 2,000 years, says Reveille. Colchicine works within several minutes to several hours to block gout inflammation. The sooner you start it, the more likely the attack will resolve quickly. An injected steroid also tackles inflammation, usually controlling pain and swelling within 24 hours.
Prescription drugs such as allopurinol , febuxostat and probenecid all alleviate gout by controlling blood levels of uric acid. Also, two years ago the FDA approved an intravenous drug for people with advanced gout pegloticase that lowers uric acid levels and reduces deposits of uric acid crystals in the joints and soft tissue.
Most people who have gout will need to be on a uric-acid-lowering drug for life, usually just one or two pills a day, says George Washington Universitys Baraf.
Changing your diet can help reduce the frequency of gout attacks.
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Natural Remedies For Gout
Studies show that many of the dietary items we consume lead to gout as well as other health problems. Changing your diet and lifestyle may be the easy solution to beating gout. One of the first things to do is eliminate certain foods and beverages from your diet to beat gout.
Now here are my top six all-natural gout remedies to get rid of gout for good. If you follow these tips, you can get rid of gout in 24 hours or less. Yes, that fast, you can get rid of gout pain for good.
1. Celery Seed Extract
Step No. 1 is to consume celery seed extract and celery juice. Celery seed extract actually has been shown to decrease uric acid buildup in the body.
Researchers have identified over a dozen different types of antioxidants that are responsible for the benefits of celery these include such phenolic acids as caffeic acid and ferulic acid, plus flavaols like quecetin. This makes celery useful for treating a wide range of conditions that are made worse by inflammation: joint pain , gout, kidney and liver infections, skin disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, and urinary tract infections, just to name a few.
You can buy the supplement or celery seed extract. You can also use a vegetable juicer to produce celery juice or just eat celery throughout the day all of which are great for getting rid of gout.
2. Black Cherry Juice
3. Nettles
4. Fish Oil
5. Proteolytic Enzymes
6. Magnesium