Gout sufferers require attention to pretty much everything they eat. A healthy diet is mandatory for gout. It does not represent an actual treatment or cure, but the healthier your diet is, the less likely you are to experience gout episodes and flareups. Certain foods are to be avoided, while others can be eaten in larger amounts. When it comes to garlic, it is considered a superfood.
Garlic has antibacterial and antifungal capabilities, but it will also work wonders against parasites. It has numerous benefits, but what happens when you want to use it for medicinal purposes? Is there a connection between garlic and gout?
Understanding gout first
Gout is not a disease itself. Instead, it represents a variety of arthritis. It kicks in out of nowhere and the painful attacks and stiffness can seriously take the patient down. Men are more likely to get it. Some consider gout one of the two treatable types of arthritis. But then, it can come back, so others refer to it as a permanent condition.
Medication can be given to ameliorate the pains, but lifestyle changes should represent your primary concern – mostly related to the diet.
The connection between garlic and gout
There are doctors out there claiming the beneficial properties of garlic expand over gout and arthritis too – no scientific research to back it up. Now, when it comes to your gout diet, the truth is you will mostly care about the purines – compounds found in the body, but also in food. They are responsible for the uric acid causing the gout attacks. In other words, you want to look after foods low in purines, rather than foods that can try to heal gout.
Is garlic good for gout?
Eating garlic is safe for gout sufferers. Garlic is helpful against inflammation and is not known to have high amounts of purines, meaning you can eat it in moderate amounts. This is the secret of battling gout though – moderation in everything. From this point of view, you can have high purine foods as well, but rarely and in small amounts.
Garlic is rarely mentioned in diets when it comes to gout. There are some obvious reasons. You cannot compare garlic to red meat, shrimps or alcohol – especially beer. You will never get a big piece of garlic and start eating it like an apple. No matter how much you love it, chances are you will never really have it in large amounts, but only small or moderate limits – this is why it is often overlooked in gout related diets.
Other considerations for gout sufferers
There are more important things to pay attention to. For example, you need to drink up to 16 cups of water a day to flush uric acid and crystals out of your body. Avoid alcohol of all kinds – not just beer. Decent amounts of protein are not to be overlooked either, but stick to healthy sources – beans, legumes, tofu or low fat dairy products.
Meat is contraindicated, but you can still have a few ounces of fish or lean meat on a daily basis. It normally depends on how frequent and intense your gout attacks are. If you experience gout on a regular basis and the pains keep you stuck for a few weeks, chances are you will need to take it easy with meat and alcohol. A healthy lifestyle should become one of your main priorities.
Conclusion
In the end, there is no such thing as an obvious connection between garlic and gout. Garlic is usually eaten in small and moderate amounts, even if you truly love it. Therefore, even if it could be dangerous in heavy amounts, eating big amounts of it is not really comfortable. Garlic does not seem to aggravate gout and despite a few claims, there is no scientific evidence regarding its benefits against it.
Limiting the intake is still recommended – everything is about moderation. Plus, exaggerating with garlic can cause nausea, bad breath, stomach gas and heartburn. It may also thin the blood, which could become an issue if you get injured. The good news is you can still add garlic to your favorite foods without worrying about gout.
Suggested articles:
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– Edamame And Gout – Is Edamame Bad For Gout?
– Pizza And Gout – Is Pizza Bad For Gout?
– Gout and Radishes – 3 Potential Benefits of Radishes for Gout
– Hummus And Gout – Link Between These Two
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