Got Gout? Here's What To Eat And Avoid

Content

• Foods That Help Lower Uric Acid Levels For Gout Relief
• Take Your Gout Medication Regularly
• Explore Eatingwell

Before you make any diet changes, be sure to talk to your primary care doctor. If you have specific questions about your diet or are experiencing more gout flare-ups, call our office today for an appointment. Use of this website and any information contained herein is governed by the Healthgrades User Agreement. The content on Healthgrades does not provide medical advice. Always consult a medical provider for diagnosis and treatment. Exercise Is Important When You Have Gout When you’re not having an attack, exercise is essential for managing gout symptoms.

Foods That Help Lower Uric Acid Levels For Gout Relief

Fish, poultry, and other meat should be eaten in moderation to avoid gout attacks. Some nutritionists recommend four to six ounces a day of these foods. In particular, large saltwater fish like tuna, swordfish, and marlin may have enough purines to provoke gout flares.

Is chocolate good for gout?

Chocolate can lower uric acid crystallization, according to a 2018 study . Lowering uric acid crystallization can be key to controlling your gout. Chocolate has polyphenols associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Inflammation reduction is helpful in providing relief from a gout attack.

Gout is something that plagues more and more people every day, and it’s caused from uric acid buildup in the body. A healthy diet to help prevent gout will include vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains and beans. Making one or more of these lifestyle and dietary changes can reduce your risk of another gout attack and the joint damage it can cause. A doctor can help advise you based on your unique health circumstances. You may be at high risk for another attack if you haven’t made any changes to your diet, lifestyle, or medication regimen. Taking precautions against future attacks can spare you from gout pain and limit long-term damage to your joints.

Take Your Gout Medication Regularly

Keeping your uric acid levels in check can protect your body from kidney malfunction, gout and many other conditions. Watch your meat, seafood and alcohol intake, and try to fill your diet with as many vegetables, fruits and seeds as you can. As mentioned earlier, uric acid levels can be increased by certain foods. High uric acid foods include organ meats like animal liver and kidneys. Some seafood also has high purine content, particularly sardines, scallops, anchovies and herring.

IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services. It is important to note that it is the quantity of purine-rich food consumed that is more important than the purine content in each food. However, if a patient is keen to measure quantities of food, a maximum total daily purine intake of around 200mg is recommended. Other lifestyle changes that patients with gout are encouraged to adopt include following a weight-loss plan, avoiding alcohol, and drinking plenty of fluids.

Following a gout diet can help limit uric acid production and increase its elimination. A gout diet isn't likely to lower the uric acid concentration in your blood enough to treat your gout without medication. But it may help decrease the number of attacks and limit their severity.

People with gout are sometimes advised to take vitamin C supplements because they are believed to lower uric acid levels. But there has only been one good-quality study on the effectiveness of vitamin C in gout. That study found that vitamin C had a weak effect on uric acid levels, but the researchers didn’t look into whether that also lowered the risk of gout attacks. Some studies suggest that certain foods are linked to gout attacks. Gout attacks are apparently more common in people who have eaten a lot of meat, fish or seafood a few days before. Overall, there hasn’t been much good quality research into the link between certain foods and gout attacks.

How Your Diet Impacts Gout

Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Berries – Especially the dark varieties, like blackberries and blueberries, have been shown to help regulate the production of uric acid. Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. The coffee does not come with a load of cream, sugar, or sugary syrup. Uric acid is a breakdown product of purines, which are compounds that are found in some foods.

Be sure to eat lots of fruits that are rich in vitamin C as it helps the kidneys remove uric acid from your system. Being overweight increases the risk of developing gout, and losing weight lowers the risk of gout. Research suggests that reducing the number of calories and losing weight — even without a purine-restricted diet — lower uric acid levels and reduce the number of gout attacks. Losing weight also lessens the overall stress on joints. Foods lower in purine content would be eggs, low fat dairy products, most whole grains, fruit (berries, pineapple, bananas, oranges, etc.), most vegetables, and soy products. Some potentially helpful foods for reducing gout risk may be cherries, fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C, and sources of omega three fatty acids.

These supplements can also reduce uric acid levels in the blood. In addition to taking supplements, it’s a great idea to also consume fruits and veggies. Be careful with the amount of vitamin C you take in, though, as too much can increase uric acid levels. Talk with your doctor about adding supplements to your diet. Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by excess uric acid.

Due to their high fibre content, they are also helpful in expelling the uric acid content from the body. A cucumber is also a great option for those people with high uric acid in the blood. Berries, in general, have anti - inflammatory properties made out of the substance called anthocyanins. This particular substance is beneficial and helpful in reducing high uric acid levels. It also prevents the uric acid from crystallizing and getting deposited in the joints that may later lead to joint pains. Include vitamin C enriched fruits in your diet to get the best results.

Arthritis Home

These tiny needle-shaped crystals of uric acid get deposited in your joints and can trigger sudden swelling. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Since obesity is linked to gout, it’s a good idea to exercise regularly if you’re trying to relieve gout from your life.

Even so, Vlad says some people who develop gout are at a healthy weight. Other factors, such as heredity, use of certain medications and the presence of other diseases, such as kidney disease or congestive heart failure, affect gout risk, too. There are some studies which suggest that drinking coffee regularly actually reduces the risk of gout. However, it’s detrimental to other conditions so as when making any substantial changes to your diet, you should consult your doctor. The gout diet aims simply to ease symptoms of pain and inflammation after diagnosis and treatment. While you’re likely to still need medication on the gout diet, changes to your lifestyle eating habits will also help to manage the pain.

What is the best thing to drink if you have gout?

Drink plenty of water, milk and tart cherry juice. Drinking coffee seems to help as well. Be sure to talk with your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Salmon and certain types of shellfish such as crab, lobster, oyster and shrimp are lower in purines. These are classified as foods with more than 200 mg of purines per 100 grams . Moderately-high purine foods which contain 150 – 200 mg purines and foods containing lots of fructose should also be avoided. Alcohol does not contain purines, but it increases your production of purine. You may also need to be on it if you have kidney stones or have had an organ transplant.

Explore Eatingwell

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. The disease should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor or a team of doctors who specialize in care of gout patients.

We�ll go through your options, which include prescription anti-inflammatories and corticosteroids, and come up with a treatment plan that works for you and your life. The hard truth is that there is no one magical food that will make gout go away. It often takes a combination of changes – medicine, diet, exercise, and rest, to manage gout.