Gout is a very painful inflammatory condition of the joints,
caused by crystallized uric acid collecting around the affected joint.
The most common joint affected is the big toe; however, gout can affect
the ankle, instep, heel, knee, spine, elbow, wrist, and finger. In
severe cases, gout can deform the affected joint.
People prone to
gout tend to have high uric acid levels in their blood. The high uric
acid levels may be caused by the kidneys' failure to adequately remove
uric acid from the blood.
Uric Acid Level
You say, "Okay, my kidneys aren't working properly. So what can I do to cure my gout?" The answer is you can do a lot.
First
of all, certain foods and beverages heighten the body's uric acid
level, and certain foods and beverages don't. So if you avoid the foods
and beverages that heighten your uric acid level, and partake in the
foods and beverages that don't, you will never get a gout attack - thus
curing your gout condition!
What are the foods and beverages that
heighten the body's uric acid level, causing a gout attack? Meats and
seafood promote gout attacks. Do you like beef, pork, lamb, liver,
bacon, fish, lobster, mussels, scallops, or shrimp? Sorry, you have to
pass on these. To a lesser degree, chicken, turkey, and duck promote
gout attacks. Do you like beer? Well you don't anymore, because beer
promotes gout attacks.
High-Protein Foods
Avoiding meats and
seafood puts you in a dilemma. You avoid these foods to avoid gout
attacks, but your body cannot function properly without protein - meats
and seafood are common sources of protein! What do you do?
Luckily, there are high-protein foods that don't cause gout attacks. They are listed below categorically.
Eggs and Dairy Products: High in protein are milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, and eggs.
Grains and Cereals: High in protein are buckwheat, amaranth grain (usually sold in health food shops), and quinoa.
Nuts and Seeds: High in protein are peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds.
Beans including Soy: High in protein are tofu, soy milk, beans, soy beans, and split peas.
Red Wine
So
all you have to do is substitute these high-protein foods for the meats
and seafood that you usually eat. "But what about beer? Is there a
substitute for that? I need to have a beer to unwind after work," you
say. Once again, you are in luck.
Since red wine doesn't elevate
the body's uric acid level, it doesn't cause gout attacks. In fact, red
wine may even lower uric acid levels! And certainly red wine is just as
effective as beer in helping you to unwind.
High-Dose Vitamin C
Not
only may red wine reduce uric acid levels, vitamin C may also do
likewise. High-dose vitamin C reduces uric acid levels in most gout
sufferers. However, for some gout sufferers, high-dose vitamin C worsens
their condition.
A dose of 500 mg per day significantly reduces
uric acid levels in most gout sufferers. But before you begin a vitamin C
regimen, you should get your physician's approval; because high-dose
vitamin C might possibly eliminate uric acid from your body too quickly,
causing kidney stones.
Is Protein Substitution Practical?
Some
of you may be saying right about now, "Okay, this all makes sense, but
it's impractical. This protein substitution lacks variety; there's no
way I can follow it." Lack of variety? Let's see. I'll attempt to
brainstorm a variety of gout-safe high-protein foods.
The
following foods contain cheese, and can be served without meats and
seafood: pizza, cheese ravioli, baked ziti, mozzarella sticks, eggplant
Parmesan, cheese omelette, lasagna, muffin egg and cheese sandwich,
macaroni and cheese, baked potato with cheddar cheese sauce, stuffed
shells Italiano, cheese manicotti in marinara sauce, salad with blue
cheese dressing, cheesecake, broccoli cheese soup, asparagus with
Parmesan cheese, smoked mozzarella fonduta, fettuccine alfredo, penne
with goat cheese, and ricotta gnocchi.
The following foods contain
buckwheat, and can be served without meats and seafood: buckwheat
pancakes, buckwheat breads, buckwheat muffins, buckwheat crackers,
buckwheat bagels, buckwheat cookies, buckwheat tortillas, some breakfast
cereals, buckwheat grits, kasha, buckwheat porridge, buckwheat salad
with mushrooms and parsley oil, kasha varnishkes, buckwheat noodles,
Japanese soba noodles, California buckwheat chapati, kasha knishes, and
some blini.
The following foods contain peanuts, and can be served
without meats and seafood: peanut candy, salted nuts, peanut butter,
peanut butter sandwiches, vegetable salads mixed with peanut sauce,
peanut-based dipping sauce, peanut butter crackers, mandelonas (peanuts
soaked in almond flavoring), some health food bars, some breakfast
cereals, peanut butter cookies, celery sticks filled with peanut butter,
honey peanut steamed tea bread, cherry peanut granola, peanut squares,
peanut butter crisps, trail mixes, some spaghetti sauces, boiled
peanuts, peanut butter spread on toast, gorp (good old raisins and
peanuts), Cajun flavored peanuts, peanut soup, peanut rolls, peanut
muffins, peanut cake, peanut pudding, baked peanuts with rice, and
peanut stuffing.
The following foods contain tofu, and can be
served without meats and seafood: tofu with vegetable medley, tofu
muffins, tofu and cheese omelet, sauteed tofu steak, tofu caramel
custard, tofu anmitsu (traditional fruit salad), broiled tofu steak,
tomato and olive tofu spread, braised cubed tofu steak with eggplant and
zucchini, tofu steak with teriyaki butter sauce, tofu steak sandwich,
tofu steak with salsa sauce, tofu steak nuggets, tofu steak fajita, tofu
steak with Asian mushroom sauce, tofu and egg burger, tofu and
vegetable burger, tofu burger, tofu quesadilla, oriental tofu salad,
split pea soup with tofu, creamy oriental tofu dressing, tofu broccoli
lasagna, grilled tofu and cheese, tofu spaghetti sauce, Spanish rice
with tofu, tofu and vegetable stir-fry, zesty Italian pasta and tofu,
spicy tofu chili, spicy tofu burritos, Tex-Mex tofu lasagna, pita
stuffed tofu salad, tofu custard filled cake, pineapple tofu pie, and
tofu custard with sesame flavor.
Attempting brevity, I only
brainstormed gout-safe high-protein foods containing cheese, buckwheat,
peanuts, and tofu. If I were to include gout-safe high-protein foods
containing milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, amaranth grain, quinoa,
almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds,
soy milk, beans, soy beans, and split peas, I would end up writing a
novel. Though I only focused on foods containing cheese, buckwheat,
peanuts, and tofu, you can see that there is plenty of variety.
Warnings, Interactions, and Side Effect
Gout
attacks can be cured by following the dietary changes suggested here.
However, please keep in mind that it is easier to prevent gout attacks
than intervene in the middle of gout attacks. So it is best to use the
suggested dietary changes proactively rather than reactively.
Some
foods suggested here can dangerously interact with some prescription
drugs or medical conditions. For example, eating cheese while taking
monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) can kill you. Also, drinking red
wine while having liver cirrhosis can worsen your condition. So to be on
the safe side, you should get the approval of your physician and
pharmacist before following the suggested dietary changes.
Gout-prone
people can have a side effect from aspirin. Though normal people can
take aspirin without having a side effect, gout-prone people can have
the side effect of a gout attack. So if you are gout-prone and have a
headache, it is best that you take Motrin (ibuprofen) instead of Bayer
(aspirin).
Summary
Though prescription drugs such as
allopurinol prevent gout attacks, some people prefer a more natural
prevention. This article outlines a gout prevention plan, consisting of
protein substitution, alcoholic beverage substitution, and taking
high-dose vitamin C supplements. This article proposes that dietary
changes alone can prevent gout attacks.By
Al Gammate
