Health
Problems Gout Research
Diet & Lifestyle
Avoid purine foods
& Gout
Purine foods increase the level of uric acid in the
bloodstream which contributes to gout and joint pain. Studies have shown that as the
purine foods are eliminated from the diet, the incidence of gout proportionally falls. (1)
Listed below are common purine foods:
Meat, offal, chicken, beef, pork, tea, coffee, chocolate,
cocoa, cola drinks, sardines, anchovies, whitebait, sprats, herrings, mackerel, mussels,
scallops, and all fish roe.
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Avoid sugar foods
& Gout
Professor John Yudkin observed that people with gout eat far
more sugar than others. He then discovered that sugar actually increases the amount of
uric acid in the blood (2)
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Avoid alcohol
& Gout
Alcohol increases uric acid levels in the blood and therefore
should be avoided.
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Fat free diet
& Gout
Meat and dairy products contain arachidonic acid, a fatty acid
which contributes to the inflammation experienced in rheumatism and arthritis because it
is converted into inflammatory prostaglandin and leukotrienes. In one study, arthritis
sufferers reported a complete absence of symptoms after going on a fat free diet for 7
weeks. Interestingly, when fats were re-introduced into their diets, their symptoms
returned. (3)
Dr John MacDougall M.D. a prominent proponent of Hygienist
and naturopathic health principles recommends that his patients have a low fat diet with
no animal products whatsoever as well as eliminating highly allergenic plant foods such as
wheat, corn and citrus fruits. He says "benefits are usually seen within a few
days." (4) He explains that "One of the ways in which things we eat can cause
arthritis is by contributing to the formation of persistent 'immune complexes', in which
animal proteins...enter the bloodstream and combine with specific antibodies produced
against them. Complexes act much like slivers of wood stuck under the skin, causing severe
inflammation of the joints."
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Food Combining
& Gout
Many foods are not easily digested when eaten together. The
Hay system of food combining recommends, for example, that high protein foods (e.g. meats,
dairy, eggs, fish, nuts, Soya) should not be eaten at the same meal as high carbohydrate
foods (e.g. rice, potatoes, bread) because proteins require an acid medium in the stomach
to be broken down whereas carbohydrates require an alkaline medium. This means that the
bulk of the diet should be fruits, salad and vegetables which are neither starch nor
protein, and whole foods rather than refined foods. One report of an arthritis sufferer
who had suffered for over 15 years, stated that "within a few days, the pain eased up
and the swelling started to go down. It had almost disappeared within a fortnight."
(5) The patient enthused: "I feel better in every way. I can dance and leap and run.
My praise for this system knows no bounds." The report went on to say that: "The
benefits for rheumatic disorders (including gout) can be extraordinary and changes can be
noticed within a week or two. Those who stay on the diet say they feel much better
physically and mentally."
For more information on the Hay system either consult a
qualified naturopath (see Where to Go for Help) or the Book 'Food Combining for Health' by
Doris Grant (Thorsons).
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Vitamin C
& Gout
Vitamin C is known to boost the immune system and one report
found that pain was significantly reduced in elderly people suffering from arthritis and
gout when vitamin C was added to their diet. (6)
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Vitamin B Complex
& Gout
In order to excrete uric acid, the body needs the B vitamins,
especially Pantothenic acid. It is interesting to note that gout often follows times of
stress and stress depletes the body of vitamin B. This may be the reason why sufferers of
gout are typically deficient in vitamin B and why supplementing the diet with vitamin B
may help gout sufferers.
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Cherries
& Gout
Cherries may well be an effective remedy for many gout
sufferers! A letter in Prevention magazine by Dr. Ludwig W Blau Ph.D relating how eating a
bowl of cherries one day led to complete relief from pain sparked off the interest in
cherries in the treatment of gout (7). Dr Blau's gout had been so severe that he had been
confined to a wheelchair. One day, quite by accident, he polished off a large bowl of
cherries and the following day the pain in his foot was gone. He continued eating a
minimum of 6 cherries every day and he was free from pain and able to get out of his
wheelchair. Dr Blau's research led to many other people suffering from gout who reported
being helped by cherries. This effect has also been reported with strawberries and may be
due to the fact that these foods help the body eliminate uric acid. (8)
Footnotes
(1) Migration and gout: the Tokelau Island migrant study.
Prior IA; Welby TJ; Ostbye T; Salmond CE; Stokes YM Epidemiology Unit, Wellington
Hospital, New Zealand. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) Aug 22 1987, 295 (6596) p457-61
[Epidemiology and pathogenesis of disorders of purine metabolism] Epidemiologiia i
patogenez narushenii purinovogo obmena. Thiehle P; Schroder HE Ter Arkh 1987, 59 (4) p14-8
(2) Health on your plate - Janet Pleshette (Hamlyn) p.64
(3) Wayne State University College of Medicine - reported in Better Nutrition March 1990
v52 n3 p9
(4) The MacDougall Programme (Penguin) 1990 p312.
(5) Here's Health December 1993 p.40
(6) Cass et al Geriatrics 9: 375 (1954).
(7) 'Cherry diet control for gout & arthritis' Texas Reports on Biuology &
Medicine V8 fall 1950
(8) Superfoods Michael van Stratten
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