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How can I Reduce the Symptoms of Gout?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Gout is a painful condition afflicting the joints, primarily in the feet and the knees. Most people who have gout get flare-ups, which are due to excessive amounts of uric acid accumulating in the joints. This uric acid is not appropriately processed by the kidneys and occurs in high amounts. With the exception of diseases causing gout that may be untreatable, there are ways to modify lifestyle and diet if you are subject to the condition, which can help reduce the symptoms of gout.

Eating foods or drinking liquids high in uric acid often brings on gouty attacks. To reduce the symptoms, you should avoid the following foods and drinks:

  • Red meat
  • Oily fish like anchovies, salmon, trout, cod and most shellfish
  • Turkey and goose
  • Certain vegetables high in acids like asparagus, and cauliflower
  • Mushrooms
  • Legumes like peas, lentils and beans
  • Products containing yeast like bread
  • All fried foods
  • Alcohol
  • Caffeinated products
  • Sodas
  • Cream sauces, or any foods containing cream like ice cream or rich desserts
Full fat dairy products can exacerbate gout.
Full fat dairy products can exacerbate gout.

People tend to be afflicted more with gout attacks if they are overweight. To reduce the symptoms of gout you should get daily exercise, and try to lose weight through diet modifications, but not through fasting, diuretics or caffeine pills since this can actually increase attacks. Exercise can also help to reduce blood pressure, since higher blood pressure tends to make gout attacks occur more frequently. One of the key elements in both weight loss and to reducing gout symptoms is to drink plenty of water. Make sure your intake of water is at least six to eight 8 ounce (0.24 liter) glasses daily.

Many types of meat, especially those high in fat can contribute to gout.
Many types of meat, especially those high in fat can contribute to gout.

Some medical professionals suggest that you can reduce the symptoms of gout by taking 1 teaspoon (4.6 g) of baking powder with each meal, which helps to lower uric acid levels. When you’re in the middle of a gout attack, you should avoid aspirin. Instead take low dose levels of medications like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. Keeping the afflicted leg elevated can also reduce the symptoms, as can eating high potassium foods. Consider adding foods like bananas, baked potatoes, orange juice, and other potassium rich foods when you are in the midst of a gout attack.

Eating bananas can help prevent a gout attack.
Eating bananas can help prevent a gout attack.

When gout attacks occur often and are severe, healthcare professionals may prescribe medications to help reduce the symptoms. Unfortunately, some of these medications like allopurinol and colchicine have fairly significant side effects. A newer drug, febuxostat, has shown significant promise in reducing uric acid levels quickly without too many side effects.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent TheHealthBoard contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent TheHealthBoard contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Discussion Comments

akbarsm

Gout is the cause of spoiling our digestive system by over eating and addicting ourselves to wrong foods like fried fatty foods, processed foods and carbonated drinks (poison) and not drinking enough water, for which we are paying the price – pain.

Now to get relief, we just have to reverse the process – eating tasteless alkaline food and herbs only with plenty of water to correct our digestive system at least for certain long period. Get your doctor's advice before trying this.

First I gathered every bit of information about gout and then I formulated this cure for good.

Try herbal juice fasting (don’t eat anything else) a day every week (14 hours fast).

Start the day with a glass of lemon juice then after every two hours, drink a half liter of water with a spoon of Bermuda grass, chanca piedra, ashwagandha, turmeric with a pinch of pepper and a spoon of coconut oil, dhania (Coriander seed) boiled in water,cardamom powder, nilavembu (Andrographis paniculata), banana pith juice, parsley (coriander leaves, kothamalee) juice- one at a time alternatively.

Do this fasting for at least six months and continue only lemon juice and parsley fasting one day per week after that.

Every day, take three teaspoons X3 coconut oil when your stomach is empty, 500 mg of vitamin C two times a day, 3-5 cloves of garlic with food, a spoon of omum (celery) powder in half liter of water X 3 times, a glass of barley water at night.

Avoid fructose and fatty, fried food in all forms.

Never eat or drink anything after 7 p.m

This is generally good for all (even non gout sufferers) to lose fat and live a healthy life.

anon162248

Vitamin C: yes (orange juice or other sources), pure Cherry juice or Cherry extract in pill form: Yes; Coffee: no.

Too much caffeine can aggravate gout, but drinking cherry juice and other dark berry juices (blueberry, strawberry) can reduce gout suffering. But the juice should be 100 percent pure juice, preferably tart cherry juice (although black cherry is also good, but not as effective as tart cherry).

Look up pure tart cherry juice gout relief and you'll find sources. Don't just get some off-the-shelf "cherry juice" drink from the grocery store. That will be made from concentrate and it's not 100 percent pure tart cherry.

sputnik

A medical article suggests to cut down on drinking fruity drinks and sodas.

The reason for that is that those drinks increase the level of uric acid in the body and that in turn causes gout forming process. The same article suggests that coffee might actually be helpful and reduce the risk, while tea, particularly without sugar does not cause gout.

apolo72

I've also heard that vitamin c, coffee, and cherries might help lower uric acid amounts.

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    • Full fat dairy products can exacerbate gout.
      Full fat dairy products can exacerbate gout.
    • Many types of meat, especially those high in fat can contribute to gout.
      Many types of meat, especially those high in fat can contribute to gout.
    • Eating bananas can help prevent a gout attack.
      By: Nikolai Sorokin
      Eating bananas can help prevent a gout attack.
    • To relieve gout symptoms, foods high in uric acids, like cauliflower, should be avoided.
      By: ExQuisine
      To relieve gout symptoms, foods high in uric acids, like cauliflower, should be avoided.
    • Aspirin may aggravate gout symptoms.
      By: blueskies9
      Aspirin may aggravate gout symptoms.
    • Oily fish should be avoided in the diet to reduce symptoms of gout.
      By: Bill
      Oily fish should be avoided in the diet to reduce symptoms of gout.
    • Certain vegetables that are high in acid, like asparagus, can reduce the symptoms of gout.
      By: marrfa
      Certain vegetables that are high in acid, like asparagus, can reduce the symptoms of gout.
    • Gout attacks are less likely in those with healthy blood pressure readings.
      By: pearl
      Gout attacks are less likely in those with healthy blood pressure readings.
    • Orange juice may alleviate the discomfort caused by gout.
      By: designsstock
      Orange juice may alleviate the discomfort caused by gout.
    • Fried foods should be eliminated from a diet to reduce symptoms of gout.
      By: JJAVA
      Fried foods should be eliminated from a diet to reduce symptoms of gout.
    • Taking a teaspoon of baking powder can help reduce gout symptoms.
      By: Orlando Bellini
      Taking a teaspoon of baking powder can help reduce gout symptoms.
    • Gout effects people primarily in their feet.
      By: p6m5
      Gout effects people primarily in their feet.
    • While in the middle of a gout attack, low-dose levels of ibuprofen can be effective.
      By: Dennis Kennedy
      While in the middle of a gout attack, low-dose levels of ibuprofen can be effective.