How Gout fix starts with your intestines

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How Gout fix starts with your intestinesThat painful swelling in your big toe might not just be caused by too much red meat or alcohol after all.

A new review in the journal Inflammation reveals that your intestinal bacteria could play a surprising role in both causing and calming gout and high uric acid levels.

So why did researchers study the gut?

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood, which forms sharp crystals in the joints.

Gut bacteria not only help digest food. They also influence inflammation in the body and help regulate how the kidneys handle uric acid.

That puts them at the center of two key mechanisms behind gout.

Researchers reviewed dozens of studies published since 2020, analyzing data from both humans and animal models.

Here’s what they found:

1. People with gout had less diversity in their gut bacteria.

2. The ratio of Bacteroides to Firmicutes was significantly higher.

3. Two beneficial strains — Akkermansia and Bifidobacterium — were notably reduced.

This imbalance may weaken the gut lining, increase inflammation, and impair uric acid removal.

Some promising animal studies suggest this damage may be reversible:

● Lactobacillus probiotics helped lower uric acid and inflammation.

● A prebiotic called inulin (found in chicory root and other fiber-rich foods) lowered uric acid in mice.

● Butyrate, a fatty acid produced by healthy gut bacteria, improved uric acid excretion and reduced inflammation.

This all comes as no surprise to me.

For the last +20 years I’ve helped hundreds (probably thousand) of people to permanently rid themselves of gout.

And my focus has always been the gut.

Here are the exact steps all these people took to become gout-free for good…