Gout – Foods to Avoid

It is very important for people diagnosed with gout to also have a well- controlled diet. Yes, just like any other medical ailments, there are certain types of food that can lead to the severity of the condition. So for people with gout, you must know what you should be eating and most importantly, what you should not be including in your gout diet.

A 12 year scientific study on the diet of 730 subjects showed that participants which ate more meat and sea foods in their diet has was 50% more likely to have gout. Most people say that purine is one of the leading factors that bring about gout. But contrary to this, the study showed that some high-purine containing foods (such as bans, cauliflower, mushroom and peas) were not associated with gout at all.

So what should a diet for gout be composed of? What kind of foods should a patient avoid in his or her diet for gout prevention? Well, not necessarily all foods rich in purine but just some selected few. Below are lists of foods that cause gout or helps in triggering it:

• Sea foods (mussels, herrings, mackerel, shrimp, caviar, crabs, etc.)
• High caffeine drinks such as coffee, cocoa and even chocolate
• Red meats
• Internal organs such as gizzard, heart and kidney
• Alcohol
• Gravy
• Any food with white flour

This study also showed that diet with low-fat dairy product helped in decreasing the risk of gout attacks on patients. A high-fiber diet such as bananas, celery and other vegetables is also recommended. For meats, gout patients can eat chicken and turkey, both of which have considerable amounts of purine but was proven to have no relationship with alleviating gout at all.

For people who have their favorite ingredients in this list, then do think twice before indulging into these kinds of food. The pain and all the hassle that you may experience during a gout attack may not be worth it all.

People with gout should also think twice before going on a diet, it would even be much better to consult your doctor before deciding to go on that weight loss regimen. Why? This is because dieting can lead to increased amounts of uric acid which in turn could worsen your condition. So if you really need to go on a diet, avoid rapid weight loss which can increase the amounts of uric acid in your blood. And similarly, being obese or ever-weight can also result to very high amount so uric acid in their blood.

One recommended habit that gout patients must make is drinking at least 10 ounces of water a day. This will help eliminate and “flush out” excess uric acid in the blood.

Although medication for gout has allowed people afflicted with this condition more freedom in their diet, it is always the better choice to be conscious of what you eat. Decreasing the amounts or even completely eliminating these types of foods from your diet will definitely help you lessen the frequency of gout attacks. It is possible to control and decrease gout attacks just with a simple change of eating habits and lifestyle.

Gout: How Do You Know You Have Gout?

Gout is considered as one of the more painful illnesses in history. Also medically known as metabolic arthritis, this health condition is brought about by the abnormal accumulation of uric acid crystals between the joints of the body. As the amount of these crystals increase, the surrounding tissue gets more and more inflamed, and therefore, increasingly painful as well.

One of the most common reasons why gout gets diagnosed only in the later stages is because most people do not even know that they have them until they experience that redness and swelling of the affected area coupled by that characteristic excruciating, burning gout pain.

So readers, try not to get caught off guard with this ailment. Have an early diagnosis by watching out for gout symptoms or warning sighs listed below:

1. Gout pain usually occurs in the joints of the big toe first (also called the gout toe), before any other parts of the body. The episode usually starts with the reddening and swelling of the area coupled with pain. Thorough time, the redness, the swelling and the pain will alleviate until you the patient experiences difficulty in moving the affected area. This pain is actually recurrent and can sometimes “mysteriously” disappear, which are known as “gout attacks”.

2. Unlike the common arthritis that happens at one area at a time, gout attacks can take place at several areas of the body, all at the same time. Joints in the ankles, wrists, knees and elbows are also the most frequently affected areas by gout.

3. A fever usually occurs during gout attacks. This fever can sometimes last through weeks at a time.

Once you detect these symptoms, ask for medical help as soon as you can. The most definitive way to diagnose gout is by extracting synovial fluid form the affected area and examining its microscopic components through light microscopy. The presence of monosodium urate crystals in the fluid would be a definitive symptom of gout.

Aide from that, another helpful medical procedure that can detect gout is an x-ray of the affected area. For those who have experienced several attacks of gout already, doctors can actually see a crystal deposits and bone damage in the affected area.

Classic symptoms of gout can be treated successfully. It is also very important to have a definite diagnosis because there are other conditions that mimic the symptoms of gout. These conditions are pseudo gout, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. And sometimes, even a simple infection could mimic the condition as well.

So readers, take all these into mind. Early detection always means early intervention and earlier cure. Gout when allowed to continue without proper treatment can lead to severe bone damage, loss of activity and even more excruciating pain. Even a slight touch of a blanket was said to be extremely painful for the patient with a prolonged gout condition. So avoid these things from ever happening to you; educate yourselves on gout symptoms and seeking appropriate medical help once you have detected these signs.