1. Avoid Foods That Cause Gout Symptoms
Stop eating high-purine foods, such as meat and beans. Foods that are high in protein are the highest in purine as well. Purine causes the formation of uric-acid crystals in the blood, leading to gout. If you can’t completely eliminate these foods from your diet, severely restrict them. Only eat high-protein foods two to three times a week, in small portions, and try to avoid them entirely while you’re having an acute attack of gout. When the symptoms go away, you can resume moderate consumption of these foods.
2. Take a Pain-Relieving Pill
Ease the pain of an active flareup of gout by taking a pain-relieving medication. Your doctor will probably prescribe a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug for you to take during the duration of the flare. However, if you don’t have a doctor or don’t want a prescription, you can also take over-the-counter pain-relieving medications, such as ibuprofen. Be aware, though, that over-the-counter medications aren’t as strong as something your doctor would prescribe to you.
3. Eat Your Cherries
Eating 1/2 a pound of any variety of cherries each day treats the pain of gout and prevents future flareups. If you can’t stomach eating that many cherries each day, get a fruit-and-vegetable juicer and juice 1/2 pound of cherries to drink each day. While medical professionals aren’t sure of the exact chemical property of cherries that makes them so beneficial in treating gout, it is known that eating cherries (or drinking their juice) eliminates the uric acid that causes gout flareups.
4. Maintain a Proper Weight
Being overweight will increase your risk of getting an attack of gout, so lose as many of those extra pounds as you can. However, losing weight too rapidly or not weighing enough can also bring on a flareup of gout, since uric acid is released into your body if it thinks you’re starving. Lose weight slowly, until you reach the ideal weight for your height, and then maintain that weight through a proper diet and regular exercise.
About this Author
Stephanie Varney is a former professor at Marist College with more than a decade of freelance writing experience. Her areas of interest include autoimmune diseases, reproductive and mental health, alternative health therapies, allergies and environmental issues. She has been a committed vegetarian for 14 years and a vegan for 5.
