Gout - How Does Your Diet Affect It?

Gout is a form of arthritis and is characterised by deep persistent pain in joints. Gout usually only affects one or two joints at a time and the big toe is the most common site. Sufferers of Gout have pain attacks that commonly take place during the night where there is extreme pain in the joint, swelling around the joint and the skin over the joint is often red.

Gout is caused by a build up of Uric acid crystals in a joint and this leads to inflammation and pain. Uric acid is a natural by-product of metabolising certain foods in your diet which contain chemicals called Purines. When Purines are broken down they produce a lot of Uric acid. Uric acid is usually removed from the body through the kidneys and removed from your body through your urine. When the Uric acid isn't removed as efficiently for what ever reason Uric acid starts to build up in the blood. When there is a build up of Uric acid in the blood it can start accumulating in the joints forming 'broken glass crystals' and this leads to Gout and the pain associated with Gout.

There are two ways in which changes in your diet can help prevent Gout.

The first way you can help prevent Gout is by limiting foods containing Purines. If you have a lot of foods in your diet containing Purines, the Purines will be broken down and will increase the Uric acid in your body. As mentioned earlier, if you have a high amount of Uric acid in your body there is a higher chance that some of it will build up in your joints and lead to Gout so you want to keep the levels of Uric acid in your body low.

The second way your diet can help prevent Gout is by having a diet higher in alkaline foods. Alkaline is the opposite of acidic so you want to be eating food that is less acidic.Your body works at its best if it is slightly alkaline and also if you have a higher body pH then it helps reduce Uric acid because the uric acid becomes more soluble and easier to discard from your body.

As you can see, Gout is heavily tied to your diet and even small changes to your diet can help prevent and reduce the chances of you suffering from it.