Research

Hormonal

A ketogenic diet or elevated beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) levels inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome in neutrophils, thereby preventing joint swelling and inflammation in gout models without compromising immune defense against bacterial infection.

For individuals prone to gout, maintaining elevated levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) may help prevent painful joint flares. This can be achieved through a ketogenic diet or potentially via ketone ester supplements, which inhibit the inflammatory NLRP3 complex in immune cells. This approach does not appear to compromise the body's ability to fight bacterial infections.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Ketogenic diet (KD) prevents systemic inflammation and joint damage in a rat model of gouty flare. Mechanistically, the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate... inhibits NLRP3/caspase-1-dependent IL-1b secretion from neutrophils.
Emily L. Goldberg et al. · Cell Reports · 2017

Why this rating

Strong mechanistic evidence in mice and humans, plus in vivo rat models, though human clinical trials for gout treatment are not yet presented.

Source

β-Hydroxybutyrate Deactivates Neutrophil NLRP3 Inflammasome to Relieve Gout Flares

Emily L. Goldberg et al. · Cell Reports · 2017

DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.02.004

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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