Natural treatment for gout - don't overlook these 5

Most gout suffers would like to find a natural treatment for gout and avoid the side effects of the medications. Unfortunately, many of the best natural treatments sound SO simple that people don't even try them. They think that anything that easy could not work.

Think again! Try some of these. Don't wait until you have a really bad attack and then drink and extra glass of water - of course that won't work. If you're prone to gout, then substantially increase the amount of water you drink each day, while you're gout free. Most of these methods work at keeping the gout away rather than getting rid of it once you have it.

• Drink lots of water - so basic and simple and yet overlooked by so many people


• Lose weight - half the people with gout are at least 15% overweight
  
  
• Eat cherries
  
  
• Drink lemon juice - diluted in water unless you want your teeth to erode!
  
  
• Eat high fiber

Toe Trauma Leads To Gout

Brother-in-law has gone down with gout today. Like all the men-folk in my husband's family he is prone to it. B-I-L was riding a 4-wheel farm bike and his foot slipped off one of the pedals and gave his big toe a decent whack. He did that yesterday and today he's laid up with gout.

Husband use to have a similar problem in that a blow to his toe area could bring on an attack. That hasn't happened for a long while - but whether that is because of his diet management or whether he isn't as clumsy - I don't know!

If you're prone to gout then any bump to toe area (or where ever your weak spot is) should probably be immediately followed over the next 24 hours with all the anti-gout remedies you have in your arsenal.

Drink lots of water, take any medication that you normally take for it, and don't decide this is the evening for a seafood binge!

Husband doesn't get gout often enough now for me to experiment with this. Gave brother-in-law my advise - it remains to be seen if he takes it. Home remedies are just too simple for some folk!

Does Vitamin C effect gout?

Research shows that Vitamin C clearly does effect gout. This study on 46,994 men over a twenty year period showed that "higher vitamin C intake is independently associated with a lower risk of gout. Supplemental vitamin C intake may be beneficial in the prevention of gout."

So, a list of good sources of Vitamin C;

* Kiwi
* Red bell peppers
* Oranges
* Cantaloupe
* Parsley
* Cauliflower
* Broccoli
* Mustard greens
* Papaya
* Grapefruit
* Strawberries
* Cabbage
* Tomatoes
* Raspberries
* Celery
* Spinach
* Tangerines
* Limes
* Cranberries
* Guava
* Pineapple
* Watermelon

As usual, I remind you to think about the quantity of each food. For example, whilst parsley is an excellent source of Vitamin C, most people don't eat it in large quantities. On the other hand, a bowl of raw fruit for breakfast will give you more Vitamin C than many people consume all day.

List of Foods High in Purines

When you're trying to avoid gout it is helpful to have a list of foods high in purines to guide you. These are the foods that you need to avoid or drastically cut down on. Most gout sufferers find the safe level of these foods that they can eat and "get away with". Now that we have my husband's gout more or less "cured" - thanks to this diet he can now eat many of the foods on the list below. It's all about balance.

List of foods high in purines
mg of purine per 100 grams of food

Anchovies(fresh)411
Sardines(canned)399
Herring (canned)378
Sardines(fresh) 345
Anchovies(canned321
Pork liver 289
Salmon(fresh) 250
Mackerel(canned)246
Chicken liver 243
Shrimp (canned) 234
Chicken heart 223
Beef kidney 213
Beef liver 197
Mackerel(fresh) 194
Beef heart 171
Lamb heart 171
Beef brain 162
Lamb liver 147
Lamb chop 127
Steak grilled 121
Pork chop 119

You need to keep in mind the natural quantity of a food you might eat. For instance, most people would eat more of a grilled steak than of liver so that while the quantity of purine per 100 grams is less, the actual quantity that you eat is probably more.

There are vegetables that are also high in purine but the latest medical research indicates that these do not lead to increased uric acid levels in the blood the way that meat and sea foods do.

Low Purine Diet For Gout

A low purine diet for gout is always advised as purines are the archenemy of the gout sufferer. Purines are found in high levels in meat - especially internal organs such as liver and kidney - and in meat products such as Oxo and Bovril.

Eating low purine foods is a good diet for gout because it helps lower the serum urate level (uric acid in the blood.) This is important because it is that serum urate that then crystallizes in the joints so the lower it is the better.

List of Low Purine Foods
these are the ones to eat plenty of
ALL FRUITS
MOST VEGETABLES
bread
cereal
rice
noodles

And whilst not super-low, if you simply have to have some seafood, the lowest fresh seafood I could find were clams and squid at 135 and 136mg purine content per 100 grams. Tinned seafood figures are salmon at 88mg and clams at 62mg purine content per 100 grams of food.

The lowest purine alcohol seems to be cider and home brewed beer. Quite why home brewed beer should be low when ordinary beer is not, I don't know. Wine is recorded as having a preventative effect although too much of any sort of alcohol will give you a whole lot of other problems!

The risk of getting gout is reduced by nearly 50% in people who eat dairy products, particularly low-fat dairy. People who ate yogurt at least every second day also have a reduced likelihood of acquiring gout or triggering an attack.

Purine rich vegetables such as asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran, wheat germ, and hawthorne are NOT believed to effect uric acid levels in the blood.