Gout Prevention

Gout Prevention

Prevention of acute gout involves the following actions:

* maintaining adequate fluid intake
* weight reduction
* dietary changes
* reduction in alcohol consumption
* medications to reduce hyperuricemia

Dout Diet

limit-high-purine-foods

Limit High Purine Foods

Limit High Purine Foods

High levels of uric acid can cause gout. High purine foods in a diet can increase uric acid levels in the body. Therefore, the gout diet usually limits food with high purine.

Gout Diet / Low Purine Diet

* Alcohol, especially beer, should be avoided. Limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink 3 times a week.
* Drink 2 to 3 L of fluid daily. Adequate fluid intake helps dilute urinary uric acid. Avoid High-Purine foods (see below)
* Consume a moderate amount of protein. Limit meat, fish and poultry to 4 - 6 oz per day. Try other low-purine good protein foods such as low fat dairy products, tofu and eggs.
* Limit fat intake by choosing leaner meats, foods prepared with less oils and lower fat dairy products.

What Causes Gout?

What Causes Gout?

Gout Diet
Gout is often related to an inherited abnormality in the body to process uric acid. Uric acid levels can become elevated by eating a lot of purine-rich foods such as meats, by the overproduction of uric acid by the body, or if the kidneys do not eliminate excess uric acid. When uric acid reaches a certain level in the blood it precipitates out in the form of monosodium urate crystals. In gout, the crystals are deposited in connective tissue and joint spaces evoking intense inflammation.

People with high levels of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia) do not always develop gout. Actually most people with hyperuricemia do not develop gout. Therefore it is not necessarily the high level of uric acid causing gout but perhaps a rapid change in its level. Gout attacks can be
precipitated by:

* dehydration
* injury
* fever
* heavy eating
* heavy drinking of alcohol
* recent surgery

Other contributory factors include:

* obesity
* weight gain
* high blood pressure
* abnormal kidney function
* certain medications
Gout Diet