![\"How](\"https:\/\/blueheronhealthnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Gout-205385146.jpg\")
That painful swelling in your big toe might not just be caused by too much red meat or alcohol after all.<\/p>\nThat painful swelling in your big toe might not just be caused by too much red meat or alcohol after all.<\/p>\n
A new review in the journal Inflammation<\/em> reveals that your intestinal bacteria could play a surprising role in both causing and calming gout and high uric acid levels.<\/p>\n So why did researchers study the gut?<\/p>\n Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood, which forms sharp crystals in the joints.<\/p>\n Gut bacteria not only help digest food. They also influence inflammation in the body and help regulate how the kidneys handle uric acid.<\/p>\n That puts them at the center of two key mechanisms behind gout.<\/p>\n Researchers reviewed dozens of studies published since 2020, analyzing data from both humans and animal models.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what they found:<\/em><\/p>\n 2.\tThe ratio of Bacteroides to Firmicutes was significantly higher.<\/p>\n 3.\tTwo beneficial strains \u2014 Akkermansia and Bifidobacterium \u2014 were notably reduced.\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n This imbalance may weaken the gut lining, increase inflammation, and impair uric acid removal.<\/p>\n Some promising animal studies suggest this damage may be reversible:<\/p>\n ●\tA prebiotic called inulin<\/strong> (found in chicory root and other fiber-rich foods) lowered uric acid in mice.<\/p>\n ●\tButyrate<\/strong>, a fatty acid produced by healthy gut bacteria, improved uric acid excretion and reduced inflammation.\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n This all comes as no surprise to me.<\/p>\n For the last +20 years I\u2019ve helped hundreds (probably thousand) of people to permanently rid themselves of gout.<\/p>\n And my focus has always been the gut.<\/p>\n\n1.\tPeople with gout had less diversity in their gut bacteria.<\/p>\n
\n●\tLactobacillus probiotics<\/strong> helped lower uric acid and inflammation.<\/p>\n