A number of 4 million Gout patients live in the USA today and about 3 million and a half are men as women only develop Gout after menopause. It is generally known that high purines food like fish, mushrooms, beans, animal protein and seafood must be avoided to prevent Gout attacks. Alcohol, especially beer and also dairy products are believed to be implied in the variations of the seric uric acid. But no actual sustained clinical studies were made on how diet can influence the occurrence of Gout.



In one major health study made on different health workers such as dentists, pharmacists or pediatricians, a number of questions they had to answer about their medical condition revealed past Gout attacks in about 2500 of the total 50000 persons. The subjects found to have suffered further Gout attacks were removed from the study.

The food diet, weight, medications and medical conditions were recorded every two years to follow the medical evolution of the subjects. All the ones suspected from Gout were transferred to further testing.

The subjects were divided into study groups according to the amounts of meat, seafood, purine rich vegetables, dairy products and animal protein they ingested. In the next 12 years, 730 new cases of Gout appeared in subjects aged 55-64. Groups with higher consumption of meat and seafood seemed to have double numbers of Gout cases than the lower quintile groups. These products proved to have a major role in the development of Gout.

The groups with a high amount of daily consume in dairy products showed a 50% decrease of new occurred Gout cases than the group with a low dairy use. Subjects that drank at least two milk glasses per day or ate at least a serving of yogurt halved their risk of getting Gout.

The groups consuming high fat dairies, rich purine vegetables and total proteins were proved to have no real involvement to changing the risk of Gout development. Body weight and alcohol consumption did not affect the occurrence of Gout attacks.

The study proved the old medical presumption that meat and seafood products rich in purines strongly increase the risk of Gout. But other factors like alcohol or genetics are also implicated in the occurrence of Gout attacks. Dairy products seem helpful to prevent hyperuricemia as they stimulate the elimination of uric acid into urine. High protein vegetables have a minor protective effect towards Gout as it stimulates the uric acid excretion.

In conclusion, persons with cases of Gout in their families must avoid meat and seafood products and try to consume as many dairy products as they can.