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Excess uric acid can cause gout, an inflammatory disorder that can reduce your quality of life. Reducing these acid levels effectively relieves gout discomfort, allowing you to continue doing the things you enjoy.
Read our brief guide to getting gout relief by reducing your uric acid levels with dry fruits. You’ll also learn which foods to avoid with gout in order to alleviate pain and put gout in remission for a healthy and happy life.
What causes high uric acid levels?
Some foods, including alcohol, red meat, and sardines, contain a chemical known as purine. When the body breaks down purine, it produces uric acid. The kidneys then filter uric acid and excrete it from your body. However, when there is an excess of acid, it accumulates and creates gout, a chronic illness.
What is gout?
Gout is a kind of arthritis caused by too much uric acid. The acid crystallizes into needle-shaped crystals in the joints, causing inflammation, irritation, and pain. You may experience gout attacks, which occur when your arthritis flares up for one to two weeks, causing throbbing and, on occasion, severe pain.
Gout is most commonly diagnosed in the feet, particularly the big toe. Uric acid reacts with heat, producing sharp crystals in cooler bodily areas. Your big toes are the furthest from your heart, hence they are the most vulnerable to crystallisation. However, the disorder can affect any of your joints, including gout in your knees, ankles, elbows, or fingers.
Signs of gout
Gout symptoms vary from person to person. However, general signs of gout include:
- Swollen, red, and warm joints
- A throbbing sensation in your joints
- Tender joints
- Chills or a fever
- Generally feeling unwell
Best dry fruits for gout
Gout is not curable, but the right gout treatment can put the arthritis into remission, which is when the symptoms lessen or disappear. One of the most effective treatments is following a gout diet that reduces uric acid and that includes dry fruits. So, which dried fruits should you eat for gout remedies? Let’s see-
Dates
Dates are a dark, sticky fruit with a rich, caramel-like flavour and are extremely low in purines. Dates are excellent for treating gout because of their high fibre and potassium content. This increases the pH levels in urine and helps the kidneys get rid of purines to reduce gout symptoms.
Walnuts
Whenever you look up healthy foods, walnuts are sure to be there, and for good reason. They are bursting with the fatty acid and protein, omega-3, which is found in many nuts and seeds. It’s a fantastic anti-inflammatory to reduce the swelling from gout in your knees, big toes, elbows, and other joints. Walnuts also contain all nine essential amino acids, which is excellent news for your overall health.
Almonds
Almonds are a sweet, creamy nut that contains magnesium. A deficiency in the mineral magnesium can trigger inflammation, worsening gout symptoms. However, incorporating enough into your diet will lower uric acid levels and improve blood flow to help your kidneys remove uric acid buildup.
Cashews
Cashews are effective at reducing LDL (low-density lipids) that can cause high-cholesterol, a condition which is often associated with gout. When cholesterol is too high, it activates your auto-immune response and creates swelling, particularly in the joints. However, a handful of cashews a day can help reduce high cholesterol levels and improve gout pain.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds, also known as linseeds, are a small golden seed found in the herb Linum Usitatissimum. Similarly to walnuts, they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids to minimise swelling in the joints and ease tenderness. Regular consumption of flaxseeds helps reduce uric acid levels to lower the chance of developing gout and decrease gout symptoms.
