Gout and a Healthy Diet This article is written with the intention to let you know… * Which are the foods that you must avoid to prevent a gout flare-up? * How to make a gout diet that can help you out of the symptoms of gout? * How much quantity of this food must you consume so as to keep the symptoms away? Which are the foods that you must avoid to prevent a gout flare-up? The foods that you must definitely avoid in order to prevent flare-ups of gout are purines. Purines are foods that can increase the amount of uric acid in your body, which is a reason why you get gout. The following is a list of purine-rich foods that you must avoid: * Anchovy * Asparagus * Baker’s Yeast * Bouillon * Brain * Brewer’s Yeast * Broth * Consommé * Pulses (dried) * Fish Roe * Game * Goose * Gravy * Heart * Herring * Kidneys * Liver * Mackerel * Meat extract * Meat * Mincemeat * Mussel * Offal * Oily Fish * Partridge * Sardine * Scallop * Shellfish * Shrimp * Spinach * Sweetbread * Yeast Extract Beer is also not good for gout because it contains a high amount of purines. In fact, it is best to restrict all kinds of alcohol, because it can increase the level of uric acid in the body. Many fruit sugars (fructose) and refined sugar (sucrose) are also bad for gout as they can increase the level of uric acid. This is why you need to eliminate sugars from your diet, especially fructose and sucrose. How to make a gout diet that can help you out of the symptoms of gout? At the same time, there are some foods that can help you allay the symptoms of gout. These foods are mainly high fiber containing foods, mostly fruits and vegetables. The dark fruits that are pigmented with blue and red colors are best for keeping gout away. Some of these foods are: * Bilberry * Blueberry * Cherry * Grape These foods are rich in antioxidants, which directly help in reducing the content of uric acid that has been accumulated in the body. The main antioxidant that can help in this purpose is known as anthocyanidin. Cherries are considered to be the best foods in this group because they are highly effective in reducing symptoms of gout such as the pain and the inflammation. Even among cherries, some are better than others. The better cherries include: * Black Cherry * Sweet Yellow Cherry * Red Sour Cherry How much quantity of this food must you consume so as to keep the symptoms away? You must consume a minimum of 250 grams of the blue and red colored fruits in order to keep the symptoms of gout away. You could supplement this by consuming the extracts of these foods, which include bilberry extract, cherry fruit extract, grape seed extract and pine bark extract. Mainly, you need to avoid foods that are high in purine content, high in sucrose and fructose levels and alcohol. And, foods that are good in fiber content are good for your gout, which are especially fruits and vegetables and fruits that are pigmented with blue and red colors. For more information about gout diet and other natural remedies we recommend you read this review of Cure Gout Now by Lisa McDowell.