4 Ways to Control Your Gout These New Year’s days

If you have gout, try to follow your meal plan to avoid future problems. Some specific steps are to be done.

1. Watch what you drink

No matter the time of year, alcohol can raise the uric acid levels in your body and lead to gout attacks. So do not drink at all, especially if you are newly diagnosed or starting new medications to control gout. However, if you’re going to have a drink at this holiday party or family dinner, make it red whine instead of beer, liquor and other drinks.

2. Cut out the corn syrup

The holiday season is full of sweets and realistically, people are going to indulge a bit. But if you have gout, don’t choose the ones that contain high-fructose corn syrup but when you do, choose items that don’t contain high-fructose corn syrup, because high-fructose corn syrup raises uric acid levels in your body, too.

3. Don’t add salt

Don’t reach for the salt shaker; if you have gout, you don’t need any more sodium than what is already in cooked food. The salt itself may not be an issue, but loading up on sodium can lead to dehydration, and dehydration can increase uric acid in your body. Limit your consumption of foods you know are high sodium. Turkey is more preferable than ham, for instance. Keep drinking water — more than you normally would, at least eight 8-ounce glasses per day — to keep yourself thoroughly hydrated. It’s amazing what a difference simply drinking enough water can make.

4. Get your medications in order

Picture this: It’s Christmas day, and your diet over the past week has not been ideal. You reach for the medicine cabinet but realize you are out of your allopurinol. Your doctor may be hard to contact, and pharmacy hours will be limited, so this situation is not ideal. So, be sure you have all the prescriptions you may need whether they are ongoing or not.

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