Gout is essentially a form of arthritis, but the main difference with this form is that it has a very definite cause; excess uric acid. Uric acid is a by product, produced when purines from food are broken down within the body. Over time, if there is excess uric acid it starts to collect within the joints (most commonly in the big toe) and causes arthritic symptoms.

There are two possibly reasons why uric acid collects within the body. Either there is an excess level of it in the blood, or there are normal levels but the liver and kidneys are unable to remove it as a waste product. In either case gout is inextricably linked to the amount of purines in the diet and this is where the causes of gout can be avoided. However, simply knowing how to follow a purine free diet isn't exactly straightforward as you need to cut certain foods out but replace them with others.

So we have established that one of the main causes of gout is a diet high in purines. We should now look (more specifically) at the individual foods that cause gout. The main culprit is bacon, with pork in general also containing high levels of the purines which are converted by the body into uric acid. Someone with gout should also be avoiding red meats such as lamb, beef and venison and should replace them with chicken, quail, turkey or duck instead. You may be thinking 'wonderful! This is a good excuse to eat more fish' but unfortunately most fish and seafood contains high levels of purines too. You will be lacking in certain proteins from cutting out fish and some meats from your diet, so make sure you are replacing those with eggs, pulses and grains. Every other food is fine to eat apart from anything that contains yeast, so beer, lager, ale and most breads. Here you may want to substitute the bread for other carbohydrates like pasta, rice and potatoes as these are a very important part of a balanced diet.

Another way to avoid the causes of gout is to make sure you treat your joints well, in general. If you know that there is a particular activity that gives you pain, then avoid it like the plague. Also, if you're overweight then you should understand that this puts a lot more pressure on your joints and is likely to be causing them damage. It may be beneficial to visit a nutritionist or dietitian to plan out a gout-friendly diet for you.

We've identified that diet, weight and the level of activity you carry out are the three most important causes of gout. These are all easily changed but you should always do so in a way that you are certain you can maintain. If you can, try to change your lifestyle to accommodate your gout and you will find that it soon improves and in parallel your quality of life will too.

Stan Tian

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