Since your gout attacks are caused by high uric acid levels that lead to gout crystals in your joints, you need to reduce these levels and control them at healthier, lower levels.
Now, if you’re in the middle of a painful gout attack, the first thing you’re looking for is to reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain. Then, once having eliminated your gout symptoms, you will want to continue to control your uric acid levels to help prevent further gout attacks, which can lead to permanent joint damage and kidney problems if they happen enough times.
You could use mainstream drug-based treatments prescribed by your doctor, and these can work quite well for most sufferers. But they do have some horrible side effects that put people off using them, and so they turn to natural home remedies for help…
For example, cherries have natural anti-inflammatory properties as well as being able to lower uric acid levels in the body. Eating lots of cherries every day can be very beneficial during an attack (30 to 40 cherries every 4 hours), and longer term (say, 30 cherries a day) in helping to control your uric acid levels.
Another natural home remedy for gout is the drinking of celery seed tea. Celery seeds have loads of natural anti-inflammatory properties too. Make a tea by boiling 1 tablespoon of celery seeds in 2 cups of water. Drain off the seeds and drink half a cup four times a day until your symptoms have gone. [Note: these seeds are diuretic, so don’t use this remedy if you’re pregnant or suffer from kidney problems of any sort].
In terms of controlling the uric acid levels in your body to prevent recurring gout, one of the most important things you can do, is to follow a low-purine diet. Purines are natural chemical compounds in our body and in our foods, that when they break down, produce uric acid.
So if you’re like most folks and your daily diet is full of high-purine foods, you’re only adding more uric acid production to your already high levels.
Foods that are highest in purines are things like fatty red meat, organ meat, game, some fish, shellfish, poultry, legumes, etc. You need to discover which foods within these groups need to be avoided, and which you need to reduce.
Sensible foods for gout sufferers can generally be found in essential fatty acid foods, complex carbohydrates, low-fat dairy products, high vitamin c foods, vegetables (especially green-leaf), fruit, etc. But, even within these groups, there are some particular foods that should be avoided or reduced.
You can get more information on gout diets here.