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It is happening again. You're in bed, blissfully sleeping, then suddenly, without warning, you wake up to discover that your big toe is hot, swollen and the pain is excruciating. Or maybe this time it's your knee. Or your wrist. Or both. You know you will be crippled for at least a week, and possibly more. Over time, permanent damage to joints and kidneys can be disabling. Is there something you can do against gout attacks?

Gout is a chronic inflammation of the joints and occurs in acute attacks, caused by the deposit of uric acid crystals in the connective tissues and/or the joints. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of purines, which are mainly found in animal proteins. If your body cannot process correctly this uric acid in your urine (hyperuricimia), you are at risk of developing gout. Over time, gout can become a chronic, debilitating disease.

Gout is usually treated by non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and dietary modifications.

The best game plan to keep gout attacks at bay is as follow:
1- Limit the amount of food containing purines
2- Maintain a healthy diet, exercise and keep a healthy weight
3- Drink plenty of fluids to help eliminate uric acid through urine
4- Eat low-fat diary products. It will lower the risks of sudden acute gout attacks
Doing all these four steps will really contribute to help your body to lessen the symptoms of gout.

The first food to avoid is beer and alcohol in general. When alcohol is metabolized, it produces lactate, which contributes to retention of uric acid. To make matter worse, among all alcoholic beverages, beer is known to have a large uric content.

Other foods to avoid are:
Organ meat (liver, heart, kidneys, brain etc)
Dried beans and peas
Sardines, mussels, herring
Meat proteins (beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood)
Oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ
Refined bread and cereals
Yeast

Some vegetables (asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms and green peas) are considered moderately high in purines but don't seem to raise the risk of gout. It was studied by Dr. Hyon K. Choi, reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, March 11, 2004.

Foods to eat to help prevent gout attacks are:
Low-fat diary products
Eggs (good source of proteins, low in purines)
Water (drink plenty of it)
Berries (cherry, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
Vegetables (kale, cabbage, leafy green vegetables, potatoes)
Foods rich in vitamin C
Fiber-rich whole grains, fruits and vegetables (complex carbohydrates)
Fatty acids found in flax seeds, salmon and nuts

Lifestyle changes, along with medication, were shown to be effective to prevent gout attacks. Taking the time to understand your condition will give you the ability to reduce or avoid gout attacks and enjoy a better quality of life.

Recommended reading:
http://arthritis.about .com/library/quiz/blgoutdietqu iz.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.co m/health/gout-diet/HQ00765
http ://www.johnshopkinshealthalert s.com/reports/arthritis/460-1.

Learn more about this author, Sam Ramsay.
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