If you have been living with the painful symptoms of gout for a while or this is the first time you have suffered from swelling, stiffness and pain in the joints, you have no doubt come across people telling you about low purine diets for gout.

Gout is relatively common, and can usually be treated successfully, without having to resort to pharmaceutical drugs. Some quick and simple changes to your lifestyle can reduce and even eliminate your gout symptoms.

Following a low purine diet has been shown to reduce the level of purine in the body, and this in turn reduces the levels of uric acid being produced.

Uric acid is a natural by-product that is produced when the body breaks down purine, so less purine in the body means that the kidney's can work to get the body back into balance by eliminating the excess uric acid as waste.

It is interesting to note that purine is naturally present in the tissues of our body, and it is only when there is an excess of purine, often caused by a diet rich in foods with high purine levels that the uric acid builds up.
A further danger of excess uric acid is the formation of kidney stones. These can be very painful and can also further reduce the ability of the body to expel waste uric acid.

So, when starting out on a low purine diet for gout, there are a few things that you should bear in mind.

1. Eat a balanced diet, which should be high in complex carbohydrates, low in protein and fat.
2. Eat food that have a moderate to low purine levels, such as most vegetables, fruit, cereals, white breads and avoid foods that are high in purine like meat extracts, shellfish, offal (liver, kidney's, brains, sweetmeats), gravies, dried beans.
3. Avoid alcohol as much as possible, as alcohol consumption can this can cause gout flare-ups.
4. Drink 2 - 3 liters of water per day, as this will help dilute the uric acid in the body and allow the kidneys to regain control.

Further information about natural gout diets can be found on our web site.

Of course, the adoption of a low purine diet may seem like quite a sacrifice, especially as it can be different to the typical western diet. However, many gout sufferers see the inconvenience of a new diet as a small price to pay to relieve themselves of the pain and discomfort of gout.

Indeed, many gout sufferers change their diet for life so that they never again suffer a gout flare up.

So, when creating low purine diets for gout sufferers you love, or changing your lifestyle to include a new gout diet, keep in mind that the sooner that the above strategies are adopted the sooner you can get relief from relief from gout symptoms.