Does a low uric acid diet bring relief from gout symptoms? This question is, like most health questions, answered with both a yes and a no.
However, it is worth noting that it is not a low uric acid diet that will make a difference, but a diet low in purine that can reduce Gout symptoms.
Gout can usually be identified by the sudden onset of swollen, red, painful joints, usually in the foot. This excruciating pain and swelling is due to hyperuricemia; a state developed when there is a high level of uric acid in the blood.
Uric acid is the by-product the body produces when metabolizing purine – a compound that is found in a lot of protein based foods. It is dissolved in the blood stream and excreted via the kidneys in our urine.
Our bodies are designed to produce and process uric acid, the problems arise when there is either over-production in the body, or the body is unable to eliminate uric acid at an appropriate rate.
Eliminating insufficient amounts of uric acid can often be linked to a person’s genetic makeup and over production is normally linked to eating too many purine-rich foods in the diet.
