Drinks advice for gout patients

In terms of water intake, it’s a tough choice for gout patients: what should they drink, and what should they avoid? Here are answers to some frequently asked questions.

1.How much water should gout patients drink?
Gout patients and hyperuricemia patients are advised to drink 2000-3000 ml water every day, and the water intake should be spaced out and be done consistently throughout the day.

Two thirds of uric acid in the human body is excreted through the kidneys. So drinking more water can help keep the pH value of urine at 6.3 ~ 6.8, which can make the uric acid easy to excrete and reduce the formation of uric acid crystals.

Drinking more water can also reduce the frequency of acute gout attacks and the degree of pain. Therefore, you can also drink more water during acute attacks of gout.

2.What kind of water is recommended?
It is not necessary to drink small molecules water, and hot plain water is a preferred choice.

There is no evidence that drinking small molecules water is related to human health. But if you want to get small molecules water, the simplest way is to heat the water. During the heating process, the more active the water molecules are, the less likely they are to form hydrogen bonds, and the molecular groups will become smaller.

Drinking water is generally neutral, but if there are mineral ions in it, it will be alkaline. At present, there is no proven evidence that the pH value of water is related to human health. There is also limited published evidence on the effect of weak alkaline water in improving the condition of gout patients and promoting uric acid excretion. In fact, when weak alkaline water reaches the stomach, it is neutralized by gastric acid with extremely low pH value.

3.Is it necessary to drink soda water?
No.

The soda water sold on the market falls into two categories: natural soda water and synthetic soda water.

Natural soda water contains sodium bicarbonate, which is weakly alkaline when dissolved in water. It can also be used clinically to alkalize urine and promote uric acid excretion. However, there is no research on whether this effect can be achieved by drinking soda water. After all, in natural soda water, the concentration of sodium bicarbonate is only 300 mg / L, the effect of which is negligible.

4.Can gout patients drink lemonade?
Yes, lemonade is weak alkaline water.

The acidity and alkalinity of food is not simply determined by the pH value of the food itself, but depends on the acidity and alkalinity of the metabolites of food in the human body. After digestion and metabolism, the remaining substance of lemonade left in the body is mainly sodium bicarbonate, which is alkaline.

5.Can gout patients drink coffee or tea?
Yes.
Fermented tea is more suitable for patients with hyperuricemia.

Studies have shown that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of gout attacks, but please note that the coffee referred to in the studies are black coffee.

6.Can gout patients drink wine?
Try to avoid consuming alcohol.

People with gout and hyperuricemia should quit drinking, because alcohol itself will lead to an increase in the level of blood’s uric acid and the production of lactic acid and inhibit the excretion of uric acid, resulting in a further increase in its level.

Different kinds of alcohol have different effects on gout attacks. Beer and yellow rice wine have a greater impact on blood uric acid level, while red wine has a relatively small impact.