Hello @writer99, Welcome to Connect. I think it's wise to be proactive with your health and look for natural ways to help maintain your health. There is another discussion on gout that you might want to read through to learn what other members have shared helps them.

-- What are the best ways to manage Gout? Diet ideas welcome: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/gout-1/

Here's some information on the topic of trauma causing gout flares that might be helpful -- "Injury to some joints, especially your big toe, can also trigger a gout attack. This may happen because it causes inflammation and attracts uric acid crystals to the joint " --- What Causes Gout to Flare Up? Foods, Medications, and More: https://www.healthline.com/health/gout-triggers

Do you mind sharing a little more about your current gout flare? Can you think of any possible triggers that may have caused it?

Hello @writer99, welcome to Connect. I have high levels of uric acid due to one of my medications. I also have painful neuropathy in my feet. When my uric acid levels started to rise, the pain was quite excruciating.

Like you I try to manage what I can by eating well. The links John posted are helpful and will help you know what foods to avoid, if you don’t know already. I don’t drink and I don’t eat beef or pork. I also don’t eat refined sugars, white flour, etc. I used to eat turkey, but I’ve been phasing it out of my diet as I notice that I can get gout flare ups from it.

I’ve done research on cherries, which does seem to show a correlation in reducing uric acid in one’s body. Plus, they’re healthy certainly won’t hurt! My diet and eating 5-6 cherries each day seems to be working for me. I’ve not had a bad flare for a couple months. I buy frozen unsweetened cherries and keep them in a small jar in my refrigerator. I’ll be getting my quarterly labs done next month so I’ll be able to see what my uric acid levels are at.

Here’s an article - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6535740/

Best wishes, Athena