Gout is a very painful form of arthritis which causes intense pain in joints. This pain can come on very suddently and causes the joint to be hot swollen and extremely painful.
It is due to uric acid crystals being deposited in a joint and these are derived from purines which are in turn derived from various foods.

As seen these crystals are almost like numerous needles!
General advice on diet is
- Lose weight if overweight --but do this gradually by following a balnced diet and increased exercise
- Take plenty of water as it reduced the likelihood of crystals developing
- Do not drink excessive alcohol --especially do not binge drink. have a couple of days alcohol free and do not take more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
- Avoid offal like liver and kidney game like rabbit hare and pheasants, and meat and yeast extracts
- Do not take excessive amounts of meat or poultry, dried peas and beans, mushrooms, vegetables like asparagus and caulifower, wholegrains like bran and oat bran and wholemeals bread
- Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt are low in purines, as are eggs, breads, pasta and cerals except wholegrain ones, mots fruit and vegetables.
- Some people are helped by a supplement of vitain C as this can reduce uric acid levels
- Triggers somtimes occur for people where they can link eating a certain food with an attack
The UK Gout Society has helpful information on the website as does the NHS