Facts about Uric Acid and Gout Treatments

Some of the most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout.

* Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of arthritis. It is a degenerative joint disease that frequently develops following trauma or infection of a joint, although it can occur as a result of aging.
* Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system starts attacking its own tissues.
* Gout or Gouty Arthritis is the most painful forms of arthritis. Deposits of uric acid crystals in the joints cause redness, inflammation, and intense pain.

Foods without purines

Foods that do not have cell nuclei are generally purine free. Some purine-free foods are:

* milk
* non-fermented milk products
o cottage cheese
o mozzarella
o whey protein
* egg whites
* pulp-free fruit juices
These foods do not have purines because they do not have cell nuclei. The yolk of an egg contains the nucleic acids, but the egg white is pure protein without purines. Milk contains no purines because it consists of fats, casein and whey proteins, but no cell nuclei. Fermented milk products, such as yogurt and aged cheeses, have purines from the nucleic acids of the bacterial cells that proliferate during fermentation. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that a higher level of consumption of dairy products has been associated with a decreased risk of gout and that moderate intake of purine-rich vegetables or protein is not associated with an increased risk of gout.[6]

To reduce purines, a gout diet should use egg whites and milk products as sources of protein and eliminate or reduce substantially meats and seafood. The eggs may be hard-boiled before the yolks are removed, or the whites may be separated for making omelettes, as illustrated above. Milk, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and whey protein can be used in a variety of recipes such as fruit smoothies, custards, chef salads, and other dishes that can be delicious and low in purines.

Effect of weight-loss diets
Purines cannot be avoided entirely because they are released in the body as the result of recycling dead cells. During a gout attack, it is prudent to avoid excessive exercise and long periods of starvation or caloric restriction that would accelerate the breakdown of body tissues. Crash diets for extremely obese patients are inappropriate because ketosis raises urate concentration and can cause an acute attack.[8] Dr. George Nuki, professor of rheumatology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, has been quoted as saying that there is anecdotal evidence that going on an Atkins diet has exacerbated the problem and precipitated attacks for people with a previous history of gout. However, there have been no controlled studies that indicate that any particular weight-loss plan can cause the painful condition.

Gout is more common in overweight people and the risk of gout attacks increases with higher body weights. So, a gradual loss of weight may be beneficial for overweight people who have high levels of uric acid, even though dieting has the risk of triggering a gout attack. A pilot study of 13 non-diabetic men who had had at least two gouty attacks during the four months before the study found lower levels of serum uric acid after 16 weeks of administering a 1600-calorie diet consisting of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrate. The average body mass index (BMI) decreased from 30.5 to 27.8, and the weight loss was accompanied by a decrease in the frequency and severity of gout attacks.[11]