If your kidneys are unable to deal with all the uric acid that you ingest then they will turn it into crystals and send it off round your body. This is the starting point that ends up in the agony that is gout.
One of the leading causes of increased uric acid is eating foods containing increased levels of purines. Over a period of time, the uric acid that isn’t expelled turns into sharp crystals that get stored in the body and find their way into the joints.
Most people want a quick fix for any problem, when dealing with medical situations such as gout this isn’t always possible or advisable. Your gout didn’t really appear overnight, it has taken months and probably years of eating the wrong things possibly coupled with a genetic predisposition to appear. So expecting your gout to just be fixed instantly is unrealistic isn’t it.
You can control the amount of purines that enter your body, just give more thought to what you eat. If you eat foods that are low in purines then your body won’t create so much uric acid and your kidneys won’t have to work so hard to remove it from your system.
While drinking alcohol may give you some instant temporary feeling of pleasure it can be a contributing cause for gout attacks. Your kidneys have to work hard to deal with alcohol and the high amount of purines that it contains, add this to some rich red meat and your kidneys won’t be able to keep up and will be expelling more uric acid into your body.
If you are unsure of what to eat when you are trying to reduce the severity and regularity of your gout attacks you should start keeping a diary of what you eat and drink. This will help give you some idea of the items that may be contributing to your pain. Shellfish, red meat, alcohol and game meats are things that you should remove from your diet straight away before you even start making notes.
In contrast, cherries, especially the blue and darker red or bluish cherries, have been known to lower the level of uric acid. Cherries are rich in flavonoids which are natures healing elements. They are also thought to stop the pain that goes with an attack of gout.Studies also seem to indicate that dandelion may have medicinal properties against uric acid build up.