HOW I BEAT MY GOUT - AND YOU CAN TOO
  • How I Beat My Gout - And How You Can Too
  • Moving foot muscles to beat gout
  • Why Go On A Diet - And How
  • Who Is Wisterian Watertree?
  • Disclaimer - Not Medical Information
  • Alternative Medicines For Gout
  • Where does uric acid come from?
  • What are purines
  • Forbidden Gout Foods
  • Food for gout sufferers - tasting better than your old diet
  • The inflammation is causing the pain
  • The Danger Of Being Fat
  • What to do when the diet gets boring
  • Great foods for gout-beaters
  • Why Drinking Lots Of Water Works
  • The Goutbeater Program
  • What To Do When You Have A Gout Attack
  • Why Milk Flushes Out Uric Acid
  • The Signup Page
  • The Goutbeater Blog
  • Do Cherries Work Against Gout?
  • Why gout happens in your big toe
  • How much uric acid does your body contain?
  • Unboxing the UASure uric acid meter
  • Can you change the pH of your urine - and does it matter?
  • Why you should avoid sugar
  • Two weeks of measuring my uric acid
  • Your Heart And Gout
  • The Daily UA Variation
  • Why Fish Oil Has No Effect On Gout, And How I Know
  • Trying Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Gout-Friendly Recipes
  • Three months of measuring my uric acid
  • How Did The Apple Cider Vinegar Test Go?
  • The Purine-Free Beers Of Japan

Can You Change The pH Of Your Urine - And Does It Matter?

Three children drinking watermelon juice from a half watermelon with straws.
Watermelon makes your urine alkaline.
You may have heard about ways of changing the pH - the acidity or alkalinity - of your body. Let me state from the beginning: You can not do that. But you can change the pH of your urine. And that actually matters if you have gout.
SPECIAL PH METER
To start with, if you want to determine the pH of your urine, you need either a specialized electronic meter or a paper strip that changes color when the pH changes. You can not see the pH of your urine by color, for instance. When your urine is darker, you are more dehydrated. When your urine is colorless you are well hydrated. When it is red, you have been eating beetroots.
Beetroots and purple cabbage actually change color with changing pH, but not when the color is expelled from the body.
FOOD CHANGES PH
Urine is normally close to pH neutral (neither acid nor alkaline), but just as beetroots can change its color, eating different foods can change the pH of your urine. That is after they are processed in the body. Drinking alkaline water does not change your body pH, nor the pH of your urine, as it is neutralized when it hits your stomach acid. For those who did not take chemistry in school, an acid an an alkaline neutralize each other, often with a powerful energy release (think Mentos meet Coca-Cola).
BACTRIA-UNFRIENDLY URINE
You may have heard about the old folk remedy to eat cranberries to fight urine tract infection. It works, by making your urine more acidic, and so makes your urinary tract less friendly for bacteria. However, if you have gout, you do not want acidic urine. Uric acid, which causes gout attacks when crystals form in your joints, is an acid. And acids dissolve badly in other acids. Acids dissolve well in alkaline fluids, and there is a simple way to make your urine more alkaline: eating vegetables.
ALL VEGETABLES BUT BEANS
Eating vegetables is of course an excellent way of reducing your purine intake, and also lose weight. And they are the best concievable source of dietary fibers. Plus they are tasty. And alkaline urine is also a way of discouraging bacteria from growing in the urinary tract. The exception is beans, which make your urine acidic. Since they are also the vegetables richest in purines (some beans contain almost as much purines as meat), it makes sense to avoid them as well, if you want alcalic urine and avoid gout.
COLOR DOES NOT MATTER
It is tempting to look at the color of your urine and think that it has something to do with the acidity or alkalinity of your urine. But even though uric acid is an acid, it has no color. If your urine is dark brown or dark yellow, it is because you are dehydrated. The normal color is yellow or light green, but the more water you drink, the lighter the urine will be in color. But the amount of uric acid in the urine has nothing to do with the color. Nor does the pH.
That is not to say that the appearance of your urine does not matter. If it is cloudy, you may have a urinary tract infection or kidney problems. If it is frothy, it may contain proteins which may imply a kidney problem. And if you have blood in the urine, then you should see a doctor right away.
Soft drinks are acidifying, but they are something you should avoid anyway. Unfortunately, milk and coffee also acidify the urine. You have to balance your consumption, or use supplements.
So a healthy diet not only helps by decreasing purines, it also makes it easier to get rid of uric acid.
Read more here:
* Why you should go on a diet - and how.
​* The forbidden gout foods
​* How to make your new diet taste better than the old one.
* Great foods for gout beaters
​* What to do when the diet gets boring

And a few links to warn about potential dangers:
* The danger of being fat
​* Your heart and gout
​
Never believe medical advice from a software engineer. Always read the disclaimer and talk to your doctor. Links on this site may be affiliate links, which helps me keep it available since I get a small amount when you buy anything, and provides you with great products.
  • How I Beat My Gout - And How You Can Too
  • Moving foot muscles to beat gout
  • Why Go On A Diet - And How
  • Who Is Wisterian Watertree?
  • Disclaimer - Not Medical Information
  • Alternative Medicines For Gout
  • Where does uric acid come from?
  • What are purines
  • Forbidden Gout Foods
  • Food for gout sufferers - tasting better than your old diet
  • The inflammation is causing the pain
  • The Danger Of Being Fat
  • What to do when the diet gets boring
  • Great foods for gout-beaters
  • Why Drinking Lots Of Water Works
  • The Goutbeater Program
  • What To Do When You Have A Gout Attack
  • Why Milk Flushes Out Uric Acid
  • The Signup Page
  • The Goutbeater Blog
  • Do Cherries Work Against Gout?
  • Why gout happens in your big toe
  • How much uric acid does your body contain?
  • Unboxing the UASure uric acid meter
  • Can you change the pH of your urine - and does it matter?
  • Why you should avoid sugar
  • Two weeks of measuring my uric acid
  • Your Heart And Gout
  • The Daily UA Variation
  • Why Fish Oil Has No Effect On Gout, And How I Know
  • Trying Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Gout-Friendly Recipes
  • Three months of measuring my uric acid
  • How Did The Apple Cider Vinegar Test Go?
  • The Purine-Free Beers Of Japan