Gout: Symptoms, Treatment, and Preparing a Gout Diet Menu

Gout, being a disease caused by an excess of uric acid in the body, requires a special gout diet menu to minimize symptoms while the patient is undergoing treatment. The crystallization of uric acid causes characteristic gout symptoms: arthritis, caused by the hardening of uric acid crystals in the joints, then eventual inflammation, then difficulty in moving those joints; fatigue accompanying joint pain; high fever, caused by inflammation that triggers an immune response that involves pyrogens (fever-inducing chemicals); and formation of kidney stones, in case uric acid crystallizes in the kidneys.

Joint damage caused by gout affects the big toe most frequently - it is believed that more than half of gout cases involve the big toe. Pain involving the big toe is often described as the big toe being "on fire": at night, the big toe becomes inflamed, swells, and becomes too tender such that even the weight of a bed sheet becomes unbearable.

Gout has been known to be linked with the metabolism of purine. The end product of purine metabolism is uric acid, and a deficit in uricase, the enzyme that breaks down uric acid, has made the condition widespread. However, how uric acid crystallizes is not well documented. Uric acid crystallization is attributed to many precipitating factors like: acidosis, conducive to the accumulation of uric acid; proteins in the extracellular matrix like chondroitin sulfate, proteoglycan, and collagen, which serve as an anchor for uric acid to gather and crystallize; and cool temperatures, whose role in uric acid crystallization is not so defined, but which seems to explain why gout affects the lower joints of the body (like toes and knees) more than upper joints.

Gout is diagnosed by testing synovial fluid (fluid drawn out from joints) in the laboratory for monosodium urate crystals. Blood tests (indicating hyperuricemia) can also support the diagnosis of gout.

Gout remedies include NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) that reduce pain and inflammation; xanthine oxidase inhibitors, like allopurinol and febuxostat that inhibit uric acid production from purine; and uricosurics, like probenecid and oseltamivir, which increase uric acid excretion in the urinary system, thus reducing the amount of uric acid in the bloodstream. When symptoms of gout occur, it is best to consult a specialist immediately, to  discuss these gout cures to avoid further complications.

Diet is important to watch out when one is prone to gout, because roughly 12% of gout cases are associated with diet. Persons susceptible to gout are advised to prepare gout diet foods and arrange them systematically in a gout diet menu.

Gout diet plans usually include the following: (1) low purine diet, which excludes plenty of foods like red meat, poultry, liver, kidney, meat extract, peas, beans, and oily fish; (2) low-fat and low-cholesterol diet, because atherosclerotic plaque increases the opportunity for uric acid to crystallize; (3) low-protein diet, because protein consumption is positively correlated with uric acid production.

While these foods are hard to avoid, especially the purine rich foods, they can at least be minimized when one plans to make some gout recipes. Some supplements, like antioxidants and vitamin C, and some foods that reduce insulin resistance, like coffee and milk, show significant promise in alleviating gout or diminishing its risk. Exercise also helps. Lastly, gout diet plans commonly state that some foods be explicitly avoided, like beer, honey, and other foods rich in fructose.