People who suffer from gout know that they must drink a lot of water every day. There are two reasons why this is so important in gout treatment.

Water dilutes uric acid, an excess of which in the body is often, but not always, the immediate cause of gout. Diluted uric acid is more likely to be expelled from the body. If it is, the body's level of uric acid falls. And if uric acid levels fall to the clinical target of 6mg/dL in men, slightly less in women, the troublesome MSU crystals in the joints may dissolve, thus relieving a gout attack and preventing a recurrent one.

Water has another beneficial effect. Drinking water generally has a pH of 7.0. At this pH level it has an alkaline effect on the body which is desirable in gout treatment since a more alkaline body is more likely to excrete uric acid. More water, other things being equal, is more likely to excrete uric acid.

Since one of the objectives of drinking water is to raise body pH use pH test strips or litmus paper to discover and monitor your pH. Type "pH test strips" or "pH test stix" into an Internet search box to find online suppliers. Make sure you follow the leaflet's instructions, and monitor results by looking for trend changes over time. One test doesn't cut it.

Hence the exhortations for gout sufferers to drink water. At least 8 - 12 x 8fl.oz glasses a day, perhaps more. Twelve glasses of water is about twice the recommended daily amount for healthy people. Some people would find this daunting. But it doesn't all have to be "pure" water.

What can you count as water, apart from "pure" water? The usual includes are tea, juices and milk. Regular coffee? Probably not because of its caffeine. Caffeine, as many people know, acts as a diuretic. That is, it draws water out of cells. But decaffeinated coffee has scarcely any caffeine.

Tea is probably better than coffee for gout sufferers. The USDA National Nutrient database shows that tea has less caffeine and that it contains far more beneficial flavonoid antioxidants than does coffee. Black or green. But to get the most antioxidants make your own teapot tea, or with a teabag, and not drink instant versions.

Juices count too and are helpful for gout sufferers if they are made from fruits with high amounts of flavonoid antioxidants. Cherry juice for gout is the most widely touted. But berries such as strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also very high in flavonoid antioxidants and contain useful amounts of vitamin C, which some studies have shown can reduce uric acid levels.

Cow's milk is around 88% water. Not quite as much as a glass of water, but pretty close at the end of a twelve glass day. One study showed that milk proteins could reduce uric acid levels, another that dairy products lowered the risk of getting gout.

Any drink with alcohol is out.

Finally don't forget those foods which are laden with water. The highest water content foods are surprise, surprise, watermelons and tomatoes. Both contain over 90% water. Watermelons are an alkaline food, but be aware that tomatoes may be low pH (i.e. acidic) and this makes eating them a source of debate among those who discuss the fine points of a gout diet.And eat soups and stews - it's water again.

So drinking all that water isn't so hard and it is one of the gout treatments about which there is general agreement. Cheers!