Gout is a serious and painful medical condition that millions of individuals suffer from each year in the United States. However, this condition is preventable and treatable. Most people do not realize they are putting themselves at risk for being diagnosed with gout while they are living a less than healthy lifestyle. But, by taking the same steps to decrease your risks of being diagnosed with gout you can also assist in treating gout.

Regular exercising can help you in both treating gout and regaining an overall healthy state. Depending on how severe the specific case of gout is, continuous movements might cause discomfort and even pain. However, you should continue to do slight exercises to keep your joints moving freely. Over time you will no longer have such severe pain and discomfort.

Increase your water consumption on a daily basis. Ideally a person with gout should be drinking 10-12 eight ounce glasses of water each day. If possible drinking water with an alkaline level that is at least at 7 is best. By drinking plenty of water you are doing a couple things for your body and the gout.

Increasing the water will boost the metabolic rate in a person, thus assisting in ridding the person of extra weight. The water also helps the body to naturally eliminate many of the toxins that are within it. The water should be plain old water, not in sugar filled drinks, coffee or tea.

Ever person that suffers from gout will not be effected the same way from eating certain foods. Therefore it is important that you know what foods and beverages you should avoid. Knowing is not enough, once you know you need to actually avoid these foods. You should use the suggestions below as a guide for planning your dietary needs. Or you can consult with your medical care provider and or a licensed nutritionist.

Dietary Considerations:

- Lower the amount of meat consumed on a daily basis. Ideally stick between 4-6 ounces a day at most.

- Decrease the amount of fat you consume.

- Avoid mushrooms, spinach, green peas, cauliflower and asparagus. Although these do not cause problems with everyone, you might only need to minimize the frequency you eat them.

Some people prefer to use home remedies for treating gout. This is usually because they have tried to do everything suggested and still do not have any relief of their symptoms. If you would like to try some of the most popular home remedy treatments for gout here they are:

- Apply a moist warm towel for a few minutes and then switch to an ice pack. Once the pain becomes bearable you should wrap the area that is giving you the pain with the warm moist cloth.

- Try eating about 25 cherries when you first begin having the attack with gout. You can lower the number of cherries to between 10 and 15 after the first day. You might also want to continue eating the cherries after the bout with the gout is over to assist you in not having another one.

- Blend three teaspoons of flaxseed in your blender. Add the flaxseed to a ½ cup of charcoal that is activated and warm water. The mixture should be pasty and applied to the area that is faring up. Once you have applied the paste you should cover it with a cloth. Wait a few hours and wash the paste off and reapply.

- Charcoal tablets can be taken to lower the levels of uric acid in your body. You should be able to purchase the tablets at any health food store.

These are simple suggestions that seem to be very popular among sufferers of gout. You can modify these suggestions to meet your needs. You should consult with your doctor before you make any drastic changes to your diet and exercise routine when you are treating gout. You might have another condition that will cause you problems if you change your normal routine.