The DASH diet was designed decades ago to reduce blood pressure, appears to significantly lower uric acid, the cause of gout. DASH, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy, and low in sodium, fats and saturated fats. In a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Harvard, they found the effect was so strong in some participants that it was nearly comparable to that achieved with drugs specifically prescribed to treat gout.
Consuming a lot of red meat and alcohol have long been associated with gout, a disease marked by high levels of uric acid in the blood and whose causes remain somewhat of an enigma despite centuries of investigation. The Hopkins researchers noted that while symptoms of gout outbreaks – severe inflammation and sharp pain in the joints, particularly the base of the big toe – have been linked to elevated uric acid, it’s been unclear exactly what type of diet might lower uric acid and decrease the risk of flare-ups.
The findings – derived from a randomized clinical trial of over 400 participants – could offer an effective, safe and sustainable dietary approach to lower uric acid and possibly prevent gout flare-ups in those with mild to moderate disease and who can’t or don’t want to take gout drugs.
“Results of this trial are good news to patients with high blood levels of uric acid or those at risk for gout. A dietary approach to prevent gout should be considered first line therapy,” ,” said senior author Edgar R. Miller III, M.D. Ph.D., professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “This study suggests that standard dietary advice for uric acid reduction which is to reduce alcohol and protein intake, should now include advice to adopt the DASH diet.”
Gout affects 8.3 million people in the United States, costing the U.S. health care system about $7.7 billion, the researchers said.
- More fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy
- More whole-grain foods, fish, poultry and nuts
- Less foods that are high in fats and cholesterol
- Limit sodium, sweets, sugary drink and red meats
