Gout Pal Interactive

Gout and antioxidants are closely related. Uric acid is an antioxidant that we produce to help protect our bodies from free oxygen (free radicals) that can harm our bodies. Though we need this antioxidant for life, too much of this particular good thing can lead to gout.

Gout research tells us that food high in antioxidants can help reduce uric acid. My logic tells me that it makes sense for our bodies to produce less of our own antioxidant, uric acid, when we can absorb what we need from our food. One pillar of my gout diet plan is that food rich in antioxidants will help lower uric acid.

Up to now, I have simply advised you to increase antioxidant rich foods. Many of you want more than this, and so I will shortly be publishing a series of free gout recipes that will help you plan your own gout diet. In my next newsletter, I will also introduce a more detailed gout diet planning service for those who want to be told what to eat. As gout affects everyone differently, I will also show you how you can see for yourself, which foods raise or lower your own uric acid.

Antioxidant measuring is a new part of nutrition. Better measurement techniques and new research studies are adding to our knowledge daily. I focus on a simple list of foods that have been generally accepted as being high in antioxidants.

TABLE 4 The 50 foods with the highest antioxidant contents per serving size¹

Product Antioxidant content mmol/serving Blackberries 5.746 Walnuts 3.721 Strawberries 3.584 Artichokes, prepared 3.559 Cranberries 3.125 Coffee 2.959 Raspberries 2.870 Pecans 2.741 Blueberries 2.680 Cloves, ground 2.637 Grape juice 2.557 Chocolate, baking, unsweetened 2.516 Cranberry juice 2.474 Cherries, sour 2.205 Wine, red 2.199 Power Bar, chocolate flavor2 1.875 Pineapple juice 1.859 Latino beverages, guava nectar 1.858 Juice drinks, 10% juice, blueberry or strawberry flavor, vitamin C enriched 1.821 Cranapple juice 1.790 Prunes 1.715 Chocolates, dark, sugar-free 1.675 Cabbage, red cooked 1.614 Orange juice 1.510 Apple juice, with added vitamin C 1.462 Latino beverages, mango nectar 1.281 Pineapple 1.276 Oranges 1.261 Bran Flakes, breakfast cereals3 1.244 Plums, black 1.205 Pinto beans, dried 1.137 Canned chili with meat and beans 1.049 Spinach, frozen 1.045 Canned chili with meat, no beans 1.040 Whole Grain Total, breakfast cereal4 1.024 Chocolate, sugar-free 1.001 Kiwi fruit 0.987 Molasses, dark 0.980 Potatoes, red, cooked 0.956 Cheese lasagna, frozen and cooked 0.942 Potatoes, white, cooked 0.918 Sweet potatoes, baked 0.900 Iced tea, brewed, unsweetened 0.881 Potatoes, russet, cooked 0.862 Baked beans, pork and beans in brown sugar sauce 0.852 Condensed tomato soup, one brand 0.826 Broccoli raab, cooked 0.823 Peppers, red, cooked 0.820 Broccoli, cooked 0.780 Latino beverages, tamarind nectar 0.761

¹ The antioxidant content per serving size was calculated as indicated in Table 6. Mean values are provided for products for which different brands are comparable.

² POWERBAR Co, Berkeley, CA.

³ Ralston Foods, Battle Creek, MI.

⁴ General Mills, Inc, Milwaukee, WI.

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Remember, antioxidant content varies widely with many factors including season, method of cooking, and variety. Do not get bogged down in the numbers, just use the list to try and improve what you are eating now.

There are several methods of measuring antioxidant values, and many different studies. These foods are only a selection, and do not cover all high-antioxidant foods. Another good list is the table of best sources of antioxidants in foods.

If you like a high antioxidant food that is not listed here, but you think it might help your gout, then add a comment, or, even better, discuss it in the gout forum.

Tags: gout and antioxidants, _gout diet, _uric acid

I wrote my personal opinion on gout and alcohol a few months ago. I’ve enjoyed reasonable, and occasionally excessive, amounts of wine and beer since, and my opinion is unchanged. However, I must point out that this is my personal experience, and will not apply to all gout sufferers.

I think I need to do an in-depth article on alcohol and gout. I’ll put it on the list of things to do. Or maybe on the list of things to put on the list

It is actually very confusing, but I fall back on my old maxim - each to their own gout.

Gout is a very complicated disease, caused by different factors. If you combine this with the fact that no individual food item (including drinks) is as important as total diet, then it’s easy to see why there are no simple answers.

As an overweight gout sufferer, I believe that my weight is the cause of my gout. Yes, alcohol contributes to weight gain, but I do not believe it directly makes my gout worse. In fact, as long as I remember to keep hydrated, I feel better after a drink. I am not condoning excessive alcohol consumption - my own or anyone else’s - but here is the place for gout opinions, and that is mine.

For a gout patient whose primary cause of gout is due to kidney problems then the picture is probably very different. It is vital that all gout sufferers have kidney function tests.

Beyond that, there are other things to consider. Do the health properties of red wine outweigh the effects of alcohol? At what point does alcohol stop being beneficial? Is there any point comparing different types of alcohol?

I think it’s too easy to get obsessed with these questions and forget that the best thing for gout is a healthy balanced diet and a healthy, happy lifestyle. Drinking too much or stressing over pleasures deemed to be forbidden will not contribute to those goals.

I will continue to report news on gout and alcohol as I get it. In the meantime, if you have some alcohol related questions or opinions, why not talk about them on your gout forum?

Tags: gout-and-alcohol

Whenever I’ve tried diets for gout before, I’ve always felt cravings, and ultimately disappointment. With my latest regime, I feel much happier, and more confident that I will continue.

OK, I know that I’ve only just started, but these first few weeks have been very positive. By making tiny changes, that I hardly notice, I’ve lost 7 pounds in five weeks - two pounds more than I planned.

I can look back and see the cumulative effects of these changes. For weight loss, I’m exercising more. Still not massive amounts, but 30 minutes per day walking is about twice what I used to do. I can tell I’m walking faster, and I will continue to increase distance and speed gradually for a few more weeks. I don’t have a target in mind - that isn’t what motivates me - but if you think a target will help you then think of something that is easily achievable. There is nothing to stop you from beating your own easy target, and you are more likely to succeed that if you get discouraged by failing to meet an unrealistic target.

The easiest changes to make have been introducing snacks. No other diets for gout that I have seen have looked at this aspect, but I think it is very important. Starvation and binge eating can both raise uric acid levels, and so this aspect of the GoutPal diet really helps. As long as you balance the snacks with smaller meals, they can also help with weight loss, as your body burns these mid-meal calories better. Snacks are also a good opportunity to add positive nutrients and natural compounds that can help gout. I’ve already mentioned figs, and later in the month I’ll start some lists of other gout friendly foods.

As for meals, I know I’m still eating too much. But that encourages me - I know I’ve still got plenty of opportunities to continue to slowly improve. And continue to slowly lose weight.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

Some of your recent messages activated quercetin interest in me. Or perhaps I should say reactivated.

Ever since I started researching gout, I’ve kept coming across quercetin. I know it’s a flavonoid - a part of a plant that isn’t a classed as a nutrient (like carbohydrate, fat or protein) and isn’t quite a vitamin - though early flavonoid discoveries where classed as vitamins.

I found that quercetin was being pushed as a wonder product, and shied away from it, fearing that it was just an excuse for more snake oil to foist upon us poor gout sufferers. Recently, I found mention of it when I was researching red wine and uric acid, and it also reminded me of my post about morin as a natural gout remedy.

The study that mentioned red wine was “Flow injection determination of xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity and its application to food samples”, and the reference to red wine was so insignificant that I nearly discarded it as irrelevant. Then I read how several natural compounds compared to allopurinol as a xanthine oxidase inhibitor. Chief amongst these is quercetin, though it’s more effective cousin apigenin, is also very interesting.

I didn’t want to waste my time researching this further, if there is nothing significant to report, but I’ve found a lot of very important information, that I want to present soon, including a table of quercetin and apigenin content in food. I need to finish my review of the gout management guidelines, then I’ll be straight on to this. Sorry if it delays responding to emails, but I promise that I will respond as soon as I can. If you have urgent questions, go to the gout forum - that has the greatest chance of a response.

Sorry to post a teaser like this, but I think quercetin and related flavonoids are important enough to warrant a mention. Writing this makes it less likely that I will forget about this important topic. If I’ve activated quercetin interest in you, please remind me to finish this.

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Due to a recent comment, I’ve opened this up as a quercetin discussion. Please discuss any aspects of gout, uric acid and quercetin in the gout forum.

Tags: _apigenin, _flavonoid, _quercetin

It’s time to report progress on my gout diet plan again, and I have to confess to a certain amount of guilt.

The first guilt inducing feeling is down to the fact that I haven’t lost any weight this week, in fact I have gained 1 pound. Now in the grand scheme of things, I can persuade myself that this is OK because I was ahead of my target.

As you know, I plan to lose 1 pound per week. I’ve just completed 4 weeks, and lost 4 pounds, so I ought to be happy. I’m just a little guilty that I didn’t try harder over the holiday weekend.

I also feel guilty that I’m not exercising enough. The GoutPal diet plan is not about exhausting yourself with lots of complicated exercise, but regular gentle exercise is vital. I’ve been quite good at walking once per day, but really need to add a mid day routine of either walking, swimming or gardening.

I’ve just found a fantastic website that will help me do this. I’m a bit lazy when it comes to tracking what I’ve eaten or the amount of exercise I’ve done. Well not really lazy, I just find it so boring, writing everything down in a diary. Now I don’t have to. myfitnesspal.com has an online database that keeps track of everything I need. It ticks so many boxes, if, like most of us gout sufferers, you need to lose weight. The calorie counter is so easy to use - just type in what you ate in the search box, and a couple of clicks updates your food diary. The exercise diary is just as easy to use. The system helps you set your goals - and the recommended goal is the same as mine - 1 pound per week.

This is exactly what I’m looking for. And the best bit is that myfitnesspal.com is completely free of charge.

There are just a couple of points that are important for gout sufferers:

1. Please heed the warning that you get when signing up about checking with your doctor first. It is important that your gout diet does not put you at risk from complications with your medication or with other conditions that you might have.
2. When you are completing your food diary, there is a recommendation to drink at least 8 cups of water. As a gout sufferer you should increase this to about 8 pints, though you can include other fluids in your daily total.

Tags: _calorie-counter

The June 2007 edition of Arthritis & Rheumatism reports, in Coffee Consumption and Risk of Incident Gout in Men: A Prospective Study, that there is a strong link between drinking coffee and a reduced risk of gout.

This is another finding from a statistical study of thousands of American men that I have mentioned before. The authors are keen to point out the limitations of this study, in that it is based only on professional men, is self-reporting with no medical supervision, and may be not cover all important factors.

That said, this is surely a prime candidate for some comprehensive clinical studies. Come on, you researchers - give us some proof that Java can make us dance.

I’ve just finished the third week of my gout food diet, and I’m very happy. There is still a long, long way to go, but the first three weeks have followed my plan almost exactly.

If you are new to the GoutPal diet it is very simple. A small improvement every few days means that there is no extra stress on your body from sudden excess weight loss. It really doesn’t feel as if you are dieting. Deliberately very simple, as long as you understand the need to balance (and improve) diet, exercise and metabolism, the GoutPal diet is focused on slowly losing weight where you need to, and improving the health of your diet.

You can read more about it on my gout diet pages. It is not a traditional diet where I start by telling you what to eat. It is more about improving diet and lifestyle so that the way you live helps your gout. If you have trouble adapting to this type of diet plan, just send me some details about your height, weight, activity levels, what you like to eat and when you eat it. I’ll offer some suggestions that will help your gout.

I’ve noticed this week, that my efforts to eat smaller portions are paying off. The idea is very simple - serve a smaller portion, promising yourself more later if you need it. It’s much easier to avoid overeating if you have to serve yourself more, rather than going to the kitchen for another helping - just don’t leave the serving dishes (or takeaway containers) near where you eat.

To help improve my alkalinity, I’ve deliberately concentrated on eating more vegetables. A typical example is a delicious gammon steak, which is something I love, when it’s well produced. This week, I had half a steak instead of a full one, liberally accompanied by cauliflower cheese, carrots and peas.

As I’ve said before, this is probably the most boring diet in the world. Not boring to do as I eat more or less what I like, just not much happening to write about. I have found that writing about my progress does help keep me focused. If you think writing about it will help you, why not give us a weekly update about your gout food diet on the gout forum?

I mentioned at the beginning that my diet is going almost to plan. The plan is to lose 1 pound per week. I lost 2 again this week, bringing the 3 week total to 5 pounds. Imagine how good it would feel to discard a 5 pound weight after carrying it everywhere for three weeks. Much less strain on the old knees, so I’ve found walking a little bit further, a little bit faster, has been no effort.

As I enter the third week of my gout diet plan, I’m wondering what gout foods to concentrate on next.

I’m a bit late reporting on my second week. My wife and I had a weekend away. Although I had been behaving myself quite well up to the weekend, I was a little worried that I’d overindulged. I had a couple of things in my favor though.

As my diet plan sees all foods as gout foods, I didn’t have to fret about the type of food I ate. I think this makes it easier to keep to the diet when you are eating out. Choices become simple ones - take more fruit and veg, and a little less meat. The other choice is about meal timing - no late eating.

The second thing that helped was plenty of walking, and possibly boogying to Lionel Ritchie all night long. Dancing was the only answer - no way these gouty knees can sit through a 3 hour concert. Dancing? OK shuffling goutily.

So did it work? Yes - two pounds down this week. That’s three pounds less GoutPal flesh from which to generate uric acid. So far it’s been fairly easy, just eating a bit less, eating more frequently and walking a little further each day. I’ll have to start thinking seriously soon about some specific gout foods to make the gout diet even healthier.

Just thought I’d take a moment out from answering emails to give you an update on my gout diet. If you’ve written in the last two weeks, I’m still working on the replies. If you are still waiting from before that, chances are that the message has got lost somewhere - please write again.

If you read about my gout diet plan in the last newsletter, you will know that one of the major points is to make gradual change. The good side of that is that you tend to make changes that matter, and you tend to keep to those changes and turn them into better habits. The downside is that there is nothing spectacular to tell you about.

By biggest change during Week One was to make sure I always had fruit available. I could have made this change even better by walking for it instead of shopping by car.

I cannot report that I ate fruit every day - well I could, but it wouldn’t be true. Fact is, I ate fruit as a snack between meals on most days, and as a dessert once instead of taking a second helping of dinner. OK, I know it’s boring, but that is the point - one or two easy, minor changes.

It’s far too early to report any benefits yet. I know that the gout benefits will be long term. For now, I must focus on weight loss. Please don’t expect any excitement here either. You may recall that my aim was to lose one or two pounds a week until I reach the normal weight band of the BMI index. I lost One Pound.

As time ticks towards the launch of my gout diet plan, I’m thinking more and more about antioxidants and gout.

Uric acid is a strong anti-oxidant. It is the reason why man outlives most other mammals. Anti-oxidants neutralize free radicals that result from normal body processes.

I have a theory that a lack of antioxidants in food might be one of the reasons why the body overproduces it. I’m finding it difficult to find scientific proof of that theory, but as anti-oxidants are believed, in many quarters, to promote good health then I’m going to carry on preferring anti-oxidant rich food.

Whilst researching this, I found an excellent related resource at NutritionData.com. They include a measure called Inflammation Factor, which I find extremely interesting. I’ll write more on this soon.

At the same time, I found that NutritionData.com also assign a Fullness Factor to food items, which is very relevant to my gout diet plan.

As a by-product of my research for my gout diet plan, I started analyzing some foods. As an experiment, I’m adding these as Gout Food Analysis Pages. In time, I expect this to become a fairly comprehensive guide to gout food. Please let me know what you think.