Gout - Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle Changes

Any activities that increase energy demands also increase metabolism or purines that produce uric acid. Avoiding stress and staying healthy are important for preventing attacks.

Dietary Recommendations

Because uric acid levels are only minimally affected by diet, dietary therapy does not play a large role in the prevention of gout. Still, people who have suffered an attack of gout may benefit from reducing their intake of purine-rich foods if they habitually eat unusually large quantities of such foods.

Recent research has suggested that not all purine-rich foods are associated with gout. Meat and certain types of seafood and shellfishhave high purine levels and do produce high levels of serum uric acid. However, moderate consumption of purine-rich vegetables (spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms, legumes) does not appear to increase the risk of gout. Dairy products, especially low-fat products (low-fat yogurt, skim milk) may actually protect against gout.

Foods to Avoid:

• Organ meats (liver, kidneys, sweetbreads)
• Red meat (beef, pork, lamb)
• Meat extracts (soup, broth, gravies)
• Seafood (anchovies, sardines, herring, fish roe, canned tuna fish, shrimp, lobster, scallops, mussels)
• Yeast products (beer and baked goods)

Maintain Healthy Weight

A supervised weight-loss program may be a very effective way to reduce uric acid levels if the patient is overweight. Crash dieting, on the other hand, is counterproductive because it can increase uric acid levels and can cause an acute attack.

Maintain Fluids

Drinking plenty of water and other nonalcoholic beverages helps remove MSU crystals from the body.

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol should be avoided, since it promotes purine metabolism and uric acid production; it also may reduce excretion of uric acid. Heavy drinking, especially binge drinking of beer or distilled spirits, should especially be avoided.

Avoid Joint Injury

People with gout should also attempt to identify and avoid activities that cause repetitive joint trauma, such as wearing tight shoes.

Preventing an Attack During Travel

Travel is an example of an activity that increases the risk for gout. It not only increases stress, but eating and drinking patterns may change. Before traveling, patients should discuss preventive measures with their physicians. The doctor may prescribe a prednisone tablet to be taken immediately at the first sign of a gout attack; in most cases this stops the episode.