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Doctors usually recommend a diet heavy on dairy products and light on meat and fish for people who have gout. Such diets can also help prevent the disease, researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The study found that vegetable proteins like peas and beans, which gout patients are often told to avoid, actually offer some protection. Gout, an inflammation of the joints caused by a buildup of uric acid, affects as many as five million Americans, mostly men.

The study's lead author, Dr. Hyon K. Choi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said suspected links between gout and foods high in purines, a chemical found in many proteins, have provided the basis for centuries of advice. Dr. Choi said although it had been established that purines interfered with the ability to absorb uric acid, solid evidence was lacking for the low-protein diets.

The new study tracked the more than 47,000 middle-aged men who were health professionals and did not have gout. Over 12 years, the men who ate the most meat, especially red meat, were almost 50 percent more likely to develop gout as those who ate the least. Dr. Choi said the effect was even stronger for all types of seafood.

Those reporting the highest levels of dairy consumption were half as likely to become ill as those who reported the lowest levels.

Dr. Choi said the study suggested that dietary changes might "have a much more substantial impact in reducing the risk of gout than currently perceived." He especially recommended a change in diet for people with family histories of gout.