Diet and Nutrients to Prevent Gout Attacks

Diet and Nutrients to Prevent Gout Attacks

Gout is type of arthritis where inflammation and severe pain is caused by deposits of urate crystals in and around joints. Gout can both be caused by kidney problems and make kidney problems more likely[1].

The naturopathic approach to help gout includes diet and nutrition, lifestyle changes and herbal medicines[2]. Today well look at the research on diet and nutritional aspects that can cause and prevent painful attacks of gout.

There was in the past, a great emphasis on completely avoiding foods high in purines such as red meat and offal (liver, kidneys), shellfish, oily fish, yeast extracts, asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, beans and peas, spinach to prevent gout attacks. However it now seems that other dietary changes and nutrients are far more important. In fact a moderate intake of purine-rich vegetables or protein is not associated with an increased risk of gout[3].

Alcohol carries a greater risk of gout  than eating purine rich foods[4]. Large studies show fructose also increases the chances you will have an attack of gout[5]. The same studies showed vitamin C helped protect the body from gout[5].

The more overweight you are especially if you carry the excess weight more around your tummy the more likely gout will occur[4].

In 2008 a 7 year long research project explored the likelihood of gout among almost 29 thousand men who were all regulars runners. Less than one in a hundred of these men had gout during the 7 years. The men who drank a lot of alcohol and ate the most meat were most likely to have gout. The men who were overweight were also more likely to have gout.

On the positive side the men who ate more fruit (at least 2 pieces a day), ran further and those who were fitter generally were less likely to have gout. The men who drank no alcohol at all were highly unlikely to have gout. All  types of alcohol increased the chances of getting gout[6].

These findings, based on male runners, suggest that the risk of gout is lower in men who are more physically active, maintain ideal body weight, and consume diets enriched in fruit and limited in meat and alcohol.

More research revealed that other aspects of the diet such as sugar sweetened soft drinks[7, 8], and consumption of foods high in fructose also increased the risk of gout.  The list of helpful foods became longer as diary foods, fruits, vegetables, foods high in Vitamin C and high in folate were found to make gout less likely to occur[4, 7].  Folate is also commonly called Folic acid and is one of the B vitamins. Foods high in folic acid are dark green leafy vegetables, beans and peas, and citrus fruits.

There is often confusion about fructose. Fructose is now known to have wide reaching damaging effects on health, however fructose is also found in fresh fruit which have helpful effects on health including decreasing the risk of gout. The damage occurs when fructose has been added to or is part of a processed food, such as in soft drinks. Fructose in fruit simply does not cause the same damage.

Water is the best drink; at least 2 liters a day is recommended to avoid attacks of gout[1]

References

1.       General principles in the management of gout [http://bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2013/March/managing-gout.aspx]

2.       Corp N, Pendry B: The role of Western herbal medicine in the treatment of gout. Journal of Herbal Medicine 2013, 3:157-170. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210803313000511

3.       Choi HK, Atkinson K, Karlson EW, Willett W, Curhan G: Purine-Rich Foods, Dairy and Protein Intake, and the Risk of Gout in Men. New England Journal of Medicine 2004, 350:1093-1103. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa035700 Abstract

4.       Lyu L-C, Hsu C-Y, Yeh C-Y, Lee M-S, Huang S-H, Chen C-L: A case-control study of the association of diet and obesity with gout in Taiwan. Am J Clin Nutr 2003, 78:690-701. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/78/4/690.

5.       Suresh E, Das P: Recent advances in management of gout. QJM 2012, 105:407-417. http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/105/5/407.abstract

6.       Williams PT: Effects of diet, physical activity and performance, and body weight on incident gout in ostensibly healthy, vigorously active men. Am J Clin Nutr 2008, 87:1480-1487. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/5/1480

7.       Singh JA, Reddy SG, Kundukulam J: Risk factors for gout and prevention: a systematic review of the literature. Current opinion in rheumatology 2011, 23:192-202. http://journals.lww.com/co-rheumatology/Abstract/2011/03000/Risk_factors_for_gout_and_prevention__a_systematic.13.aspx

8.       Bae J, Chun B-Y, Park PS, Choi BY, Kim MK, Shin M-H, Lee Y-H, Shin DH, Kim S-K: Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks increases the risk of hyperuricemia in Korean population: The Korean Multi-Rural Communities Cohort Study. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism 2013. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004901721300214X