Thursday, January 29, 2009

I Suffer from Gout - What can I eat?

By Kathy Nelson

When sufferers of gout start to suffer bad pain from gout attacks, they will normally start to do some research on the subject. Obviously they are looking for ways to stop the attacks from happening and normally they will start to learn that their diet plays a big part in the gout attacks.

Normally gout sufferers will instantly ask, "so what can I eat then?" and immediately focus on the foods which they enjoy the most. Its only natural to do this, but you need to get over these kind of questions and start to think about your long term health and the effects these favourite foods could be having on you.

Stopping the pain is the first thing on your mind when you are having the attack but as the pain wears off and you realize that you will have to make some changes in your life then suddenly you start to think that maybe you won't have another attack or maybe the next won't be so bad and you will be able to bear the pain.

You need to start thinking about the long term solutions to your gout and the pain you are suffering as a result of it. Yes short term remedies are fine at first, but the real pain is caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in the joints. This can be solved by taking some steps to help in the long term, such as watching your diet and eating the correct foods.

Try to change your eating habits not just over the next few months, but over the next few years. Because you need to be making changes over a long period so that you can experience less pain from gout over a long period of time.

Ok so what kind of changes to your lifestyle do you need to make in order to make a difference to the severity of your gout attacks? One of the first things that you can easily do it to keep a record of what you eat. Carry a small notebook around with you and write down what you eat and when over the next two weeks. This will let you see exactly what you are eating and where you can make improvements to your eating habits.

Keep away from foods which contain high amounts of purines. The reason for this is that it causes your body to produce uric acid which as we know can crystallize and cause gout. Therefore this is one of the main things you can cut out of your diet.

Keep the notebook that you have used to keep a record of your food intake for another two weeks and see how many foods containing this you have managed to cut out of your diet. Then move onto another type of food which you need to cut out. Over a period of time you should see a reduction in gout attacks, combine this with increasing your intake of water and you should see good benefits. So are there any foods which actually help with gout problems? - 15683

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