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Gout Prevention

Gout: Prevention


Top Prevention

1. Vitamin C

The role of vitamin C in preventing gout is very big. Vitamin C helps in removing uric acid from the kidneys and preventing its accumulation in the joints, thereby preventing gout. Food that is enriched in vitamin C like citrus fruits, cranberry etc. can be included in your daily diet and adequate supplements too incorporated as per the instruction of a doctor.

2. Weight control

Being overweight too can increase the instances of gout attacks. If you are overweight, you must make sure that diet control and exercise are part of your life so that gout can be kept under control. At least 30 minutes of rigorous exercise can help in preventing gout.

3. Alcohol

For those who are predisposed to gout due to a genetic connection, consuming alcohol can trigger attacks as alcohol like beer produces uric acid that will get deposited in the joints and lead to severe attacks of gout. If you are frequently troubled by gout, make it a point to eliminate the consumption of alcohol altogether. This will greatly improve your condition. However, wine is known to be much safe as it does not produce much uric acid.

4. Potassium

Food that is rich in potassium will help in melting the crystals formed by uric acid and prevent the formation of gout. Foods like bananas, kiwi etc. should be consumed in high quantities by gout patients as they are rich in potassium and help in preventing gout attacks. Include this in your daily diet to get your daily amount of potassium.

5. Water

Drinking water has many health benefits. It can prevent gout as well. Taking plenty of water helps in keeping the urine diluted and this will prevent the crystallizing of uric acid, leading to gout. Concentrated urine will make matters worse and lead to frequent episodes of pain and swelling. By drinking plenty of fluids, the urine concentration can be prevented and uric acid will not crystallize as well.

6. Avoid purine

Certain foods can increase the amount of uric acid in your body. These are the foods that are high in purine like meat, organ meat, mackerels, sardines, scallops, herrings etc. Taking these foods will aggravate the condition of gout and cause a lot of distress in the patient due to crystallization of all the uric acid that is produced in the body. Gout patients must therefore avoid all non vegetarian foods that are high in purine including alcohol to keep away from flare-ups. It has been found that vegetable sources of purine like asparagus, mushrooms, peas etc. do not cause any problem unless they are consumed in high amounts.

7. Avoid sugary foods

Sugary foods that contain corn syrup, fructose, sucrose etc. can cause the gout symptoms to become worse. Therefore, avoiding these foods too can help in preventing gout from surfacing. Foods containing refined sugars are jellies, soft drinks, candies, jams etc.

8. Antioxidants

Gout patients are known to benefit greatly from taking cherries, raspberries, blackberries etc. along with other precautionary measures. Cherries are anti inflammatory in nature and using them will help in controlling the inflammation of the joints. All these berries are also rich in antioxidants and help in reducing the levels of uric acid.

9. Coffee

Taking 3-4 cups of coffee a day is known to reduce the levels of uric acid in the body and prevent gout attacks by about forty percent. The reason is not known even though both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee seems to work for gout prevention.

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