Controlling your diet is an easy way to prevent gout from developing. It starts by removing foods from your diet that can lead to gout, or make your already existing gout worse. These types of foods include sweets like candy, cakes, cookies, pies and other desserts that have high contents of sugar. Food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup are also types of foods that can cause inflammation and worsen your gout. Saturated fats like red meats and high-fat dairy products lead to inflammation as well and should be avoided. Meats like liver, kidney, or other “sweetbreads” contain high purine levels which can lead to high levels of uric acid in the blood stream. If you are suffering from gout, there are a variety of foods that you can eat to prevent or help ease your condition. Eating more fruits and vegetables may seem obvious but they contain more anti-inflammatory properties than most other types of foods. Certain types of seafood, like sardines and other oily fish, have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to help reduce inflammation. However, these foods also contain a large amount of purines. Foods such as tuna, sardines and mackerel are known to carry a great deal of purines. Remember, purines are what eventually lead to the crystal build up near the joint that causes pain and inflammation. So reducing the amount of consumption of these purines is a big part in fighting gout: “Higher levels of meat and seafood consumption are associated with an increased risk of gout, whereas a higher level of consumption of dairy products is associated with a decreased risk. Moderate intake of purine-rich vegetables or protein is not associated with an increased risk of gout.” (2) There are also certain supplements that you may take such as vitamin C or Folic Acid to naturally stop purines from building up.