Can juicing cure gout?
by Jane
I have a family member with gout who is getting attacks more and more frequent these last 3 years. Can juicing cure gout? If so, how, what, and how long does it take? Gout sufferers have limited choices in fruits and vegetables since they have a long list of food to avoid which can trigger attacks I feel at a lost to help. Hope that you could advice on how to go about it. Thanks in advance! Jane Sara says: Dear Jane, Juicing cannot cure gout, but DRINKING juices can give your body a cleansing and is detoxifying in cleaning out the toxicity in the blood. What's happening in a gout sufferer's body is that his blood is highly acidic and his "thick" blood is not circulating as smoothly as it should. Due to his many years of consuming foods that are high in uric acid, these build-ups begin to accumulate in parts of his body where circulation is much slower. These excess uric acid crystalized over time which causes pain. One of the first things a gout sufferer should do is to reduce/eliminate the foods that are high in toxic substances and purine that contribute to the uric acid build-up. Some of these culprits are: Processed foods, salt, sugar, dairy products, carbonated drinks, preserved foods, anchovies, asparagus, herring, red meat, meat gravies and broths, mushrooms, mussels, all organ meats, sardines. Another group of foods to avoid are the bean products including soya milk, bean curds, bean sprouts, bean paste, (and our local favorite, 'tau foo fah'), etc. These vegetarian favorites have fairly high amount of purine content. In the plant food department, those to be avoided until he gets well, are: tomato, tomato products, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, rhubarb and peas. I always say that detoxification BEGINS when you STOP putting harmful foods into your body. Once he has eliminated the harmful foods, then begin to take juices that are cleansing for the liver to help the liver filter out the toxic blood. Easy to say, but healing by diet will take a longer time (although faster if he's disciplined and determined). After all, it has taken him so many years to build up the crystalized uric acid; don't expect for it to go away in one or two weeks nor two months. It's a change of lifestyle/dietary habits to get rid of gout for good. It CAN be done. Some foods that may be good in helping a gout sufferer: Cucumber, bitter gourd, beetroot (moderate), celery, carrot, green apple. Rich vitamin C fruits: lemon, lime, orange, guava, cherries, and other berries, etc. Make these into juice form for best absorption. What we are trying to achieve is to flood the system with plenty of fluids that are high in vitamins and minerals contents to hydrate the cells. The enzymes and phytonutrients from juices are tremendous help for healing. Drinking plenty water (2-3 liter a day) is essential. This should help reduce the attacks over time. Please also read: Harmful foods to avoid Explore the healing foods Foods that will help reduce gout attacks
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