Too much uric acid in the blood may result in a form of arthritis known as gout or gouty arthritis. The condition is due to high uric acid levels crystallizing and making deposits in the joints. Gout causes pain, skin reddening, tenderness and swelling. Those impacted by Gout should consume low purine foods. Purines can be hard to metabolize, and they are common in many food and drink choices. Here is a rundown of seven snack-able low purine options:

1. An “eggcellent” choice
Eggs are a great low purine food option. They can be used in a variety of ways, and be implemented any time during the day. On top of that, they do not break your grocery shopping budget. When able, try to just eat the whites to avoid running up your cholesterol.

2. Don’t let gout drive you nuts
Don’t let gout get the best of you. Nuts are a great dietary option that you can incorporate into your diet. Consider not just nuts, but nut by-products like peanut butter, almond butter and hazelnut spreads.

3. Fruit, fruit and more fruit
Fruit is good for any diet, but especially when in need of a low purine diet. Fruit is popular for breakfast, snacking and dessert. Mix it up by incorporating fruit drinks and products made with fruit, like snack bars. Don’t worry about the sugar in the fruit products. Sugar is actually low in purines.

4. Sweeten up your diet
You rarely hear that sugar is good for a diet, but sugar can actually help mitigate gout. Take the opportunity to pamper yourself with a sugary treat. After-all, you deserve it once it a while. Ice cream is okay too!

5. Caffeine can keep you running
Products like tea and coffee are low in purines. Not only do tea and coffee help with limiting the arthritis, but it will help you keep going throughout the day as you work through the symptoms.

6. Say cheese
Dairy products that are low in fat helps reduce the impact of gout. Consider making low fat cheeses, milk and even ice cream part of your diet. Yes, we said ice cream again.

7. Veggies between meals
Consider implementing raw or previously cooked and chopped up vegetables into your diet for snacking. Vegetables low in purines include zucchini, bell peppers, spinach, asparagus and squash. Prepare the vegetables the night before on the grill for day time snacking, or you can combine them into a nutritional drink to get you through your day.