Truth about Gout

Gout, ouch?  A very painful joint condition…

Men are more than 6 times more likely to get gout than women.  Risk factors include eating a high purine diet, especially if it’s accompanied with high alcohol consumption and insufficient water intake, obesity and genetics.  Gout is also considered a pre-diabetic condition!

Uric acid is the final breakdown product from high purine foods.  It is thought that in most gout sufferers a high uric acid level is a result of under-excretion rather than over production.  In 98% of patients the management within the organs has become defected, this causes the high levels of uric acid which lead to the formation of crystals in the joints, which leads to inflammation, pain and discomfort.

Blood tests that show rising uric acid (or now commonly seen as urate levels) suggestions metabolic dysfunction.

According a systematic review of literature on risk factors associated with gout, by The National Institute for Health, the risk factors are as follows:

1. Alcohol consumption increased the risk of incident gout, especially higher intake of beer and spirits
2. Several dietary factors including higher intake of meat intake, seafood, sugar sweetened soft drinks, and foods high in fructose increased the risk of incident gout.
3. Dairy/milk and cheese intake, folate intake and coffee consumption were each associated with lower risk of incident gout and in some cases lower rate of gout flares.
4. Among medications, consistent evidence exists for thiazide and loop diuretics to be associated with higher risk of incident gout and higher rate of gout flares.
5. Hypertension, renal insufficiency, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperuricemia, diabetes, obesity and early menopause were each associated with higher risk of incident gout and/or gout flares.

WATER

Water will help move uric acid out of your body, so make sure that your water intake remains high, to flush accumulated uric acid from the body.  Drinking water also helps you stop the fizzy pop and keeps you feeling energised, dehydration will make all symptoms worse!

LOW PURINE FOODS
0-50mg purine per 100g

Fruit, cherries in particular (Cherry Active tablets can help) watch out not to eat more than 3 portions a day
Vegetables: green including beans, green string beans, French beans, mange-tout, celery
Whole grains in moderation
Dairy in moderation due to fat content but don’t remove it if you currently eat it
Raw unsalted nuts (not peanut or cashew)
Olives
Jam

MODERATE
50mg – 150mg  per 100g

Poultry: turkey, chicken, duck and goose
Red meat: veal, beef, lamb, pork, bacon
Whole grain bread and pasta
Oatmeal, brown rice, tahini
Lentils, soya beans, soya flour, bean curd, tofu, tempeh, miso, hummus
Peanuts, peanut butter, cashew nuts
Cauliflower, broccoli, calabrese, kale, Brussels sprout
Spinach, asparagus, avocado and mushrooms

HIGH
150-1000mg purine per 100g

Wild or farmed game: pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit/hare, venison
Organ meats: kidney, heart, sweetbreads, liver, pate, liver sausage foie gras
Meat extracts Bovril, oxo, marmite, vegemite
Fish roe
Scallops, herring, mackerel, trout
Crayfish, lobster
Small fish eaten whole or processed: anchovies, sardine, sprats, whitebait, anchovy paste, gentleman’s relish, Thai fish sauce

BONUS Recipe!

1 cup of frozen sour cherries or normal cherries
1 whole raw washed beetroot chopped
1 dessert spoon of milled flaxseeds
1 courgette  washed and chopped
Couple of fresh mint leaves
2ooml Coconut water or almond milk (add in more or less – your preference)

Blend until smooth!  You can also add in some raw cacoa powder, which tastes amazing.

This also supports the quality of bile, allowing you to detox better and breakdown fats in your diet.  Delicious!

Perhaps you need to review your lifestyle and eating habits?  Get in touch and we can arrange a quick confidential chat to see how we can work together on improving your health and wellbeing for good.