Lowering Uric Acid to Prevent Painful Gout & Kidney Stones

Urate Crystals
Crystals of urate can form when you have high uric acid levels in your blood. They usually don't when your levels are normal because your kidneys method & flush excess acid out of your body. But if your kidneys are not working to their full potential, or your body is over-producing uric acid, then you are left with excess in your bloodstream that, over time, can form in to crystals in your joints & kidneys.
Medical tests can pinpoint which of the scenarios above could be the underlying issue. For example, in the event that they show that you have high acid levels in your blood but low levels in your urine, this might indicate that your kidneys are not working effectively.
Either way, your body has much acid which then forms crystals in your joints, causing gout & feasible long-term joint damage. But then, crystals may even be deposited in your kidneys where they clump together to form stones.
If, on the other hand, the tests show high levels in your blood & high levels in your urine as well, then this might indicate that your kidneys are fine but that the body is producing much acid for your kidneys to cope with.
So you need to think about lowering uric acid & maintaining it at healthy levels...

Lowering Uric Acid
There is drugs that can do this of work, but they must be taken long-term or, in some cases, for a lifetime because they only work whilst being taken.
In order to prevent urate crystals forming you need to find ways of lowering your uric acid levels & maintaining them at these healthier levels going forward.

Vitamin C
However, there is natural ways of lowering uric acid in order to help prevent gout, permanent joint damage & kidney stones...

Water
Drinking at least litres of water a day can not only help your kidneys flush the acid out of your body, helping to lower acid levels, but it can also help to prevent crystal formation since it is harder for them to form in a well-hydrated surroundings.

Herbs
Studies have shown that this vitamin can help your kidneys to excrete excess acid by urine & lower overall levels in your body. Dietary changes can do this but lovely quality supplements are effective .
These are simple, sensible tips for lowering uric acid to help prevent gout & kidney stones. But they are only of lots of other natural ways out there. Regrettably, there is a lot of to go in to here...
Herbs such as Bachu (dissolves crystals & helps to flush them) & Devil's Claw (lowers uric acid levels) can be used. But, as with vitamin C above, you ought to speak to your doctor about the suitability of any kind of herb or supplement for your particular case.