Gout Pal Interactive

Unfortunately, I have not had time to add many recipes on my gout website.

In fact, there is only one, which is a gazpacho recipe that has been shown to lower uric acid.

Gout sufferers do not normally need a special diet, though they often need to change eating habits and switch to smaller, more frequent, and more varied meals. The simple addition of a large glass of water with every meal makes the most significant improvement for most gout patients.

Unfortunately, a lot of myth surrounds diets for gout sufferers, usually with an emphasis on restriction. These diets are rarely followed for more than  a few days.

I recommend analysing total food and drink intake, then adjusting gradually to produce a more balanced diet. To this end, I am working on an online food diary, but it is unlikely to be available this year due to other commitments.

Having said that, if any gout sufferer (or their carer) has a favourite recipe that they worry about eating, then please send it to me – posting here is the easiest way. I will analyse the recipe to see how it might suit (or otherwise) the typical gout sufferer.

I have several problems with the Gout Haters series of cookbooks.

They seem to reinforce the notion that purines are the main problem for gout sufferers. An excerpt from there website:

Uric acid is the end product of purines. It serves no bichemical function. Once uric acid is formed, it is usually eliminated from the body.

About one third of the uric acid normally produced in the body comes from food, with the remainder being produced through normal metabolism.

Firstly, uric acid does serve a biochemical function, in fact several:

• It has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant, reducing cell damage.
• It is thought to be the most significant factor determining why humans live longer than other primates.
• Low uric acid is associated with Parkinsons Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

Secondly they claim about one third of the uric acid produced in the body coems from food, however other people quote much lower figures.

This focus on low purine diet is dangerous to me because it implies that you can fix your own gout simply by changing your diet. This can only happen by luck if you fail to monitor your uric acid levels.

Knowing your uric acid level is vital, and this is best achieved by frequent tests supervised by a rheumatologist.

Beyond that, diet is clearly important, but Gout Haters appear to focus on switching to a vegetarian diet. For most gout sufferers this is untenable. A diet that cannot be maintained is not a good diet. Patients become dissatisfied and soon return to bad eating habits simply.

In my opinion, it is much better to understand how food affects your body, and to eat small regular meals. Switching from binge eating with low fluid intake to 6 small meals per day with 2 to 3 liters of fluid will make more difference than changing your diet to a series of low purine meals that you don't enjoy. Those meals must be nutritionally well balanced, with total calories that maintain your body weight in the low-normal BMI range.

The fact is, that there is no need to invest in expensive recipe plans. Simply plan your meals properly, ensuring that any meal that is meat or fish based is balanced with twice as much fruit and vegetables.

Whatever you do, ensure your uric acid is maintained below 7mg/dL (6mg/dL if you have any sign of tophi buildup).