Gout - The Disease of Kings — DietConnectionBlog

Hippocrates, nearly 2,000 years ago, described gout as a “disease of kings,” because you had to be wealthy to afford an abundance of rich, fattening food. Today, most people are able to afford an abundance of fattening food, making painful episodes of gout much more common.

There are several risk factors for gout, including high uric acid levels, alcohol consumption (especially beer and hard liquor), meat intake, seafood intake and sugar sweetened soft drinks. Other risk factors include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and taking diuretics.

In the U.S., about 21 percent of the population has high levels of uric acid in their blood.

In the journal Rheumatology, Dr. Fernando Perez-Ruiz writes, “The aim of long-term treatment is to reduce the serum urate (sUA) level to 6 mg/dl (⩽360 μmol/l). Gout patients must be educated about gout management. Patients starting urate-lowering therapy need to understand the importance of prophylactic therapy with colchicine or NSAIDs to reduce the risk of ‘mobilization flares’ in the first few months. In the long term, reduction in the sUA below the target level will result in gout being effectively cured.”

In other words, once the uric acid level is below 6 mg/dl, the existing crystals dissolve and new crystals cannot form.

Allopurinol is currently the drug of choice in treating gout, but 2% of patients develop hypersensitivity reactions, which can be severe or fatal. It is much less dangerous to lower the uric acid levels through diet and lifestyle.

Eating an alkaline, or vegetarian diet, is effective for removing uric acid from the body. Skim milk has been shown to help at first, but did not have a lasting effect. Alcohol and purine-rich foods of animal origin, such as meat, seafood and organ meats, increased gout attacks by fivefold.

Some recommendations say to stay away from purine-rich plant foods such as lentils, beans, mushrooms, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots and mushrooms, but those recommendations have been proved to be outdated. Recent studies have shown that only the purines from animal foods cause uric acid levels to rise.

An acute gout attack may last from 3-10 days, with or without medication. Some people only have one attack in their lifetime, but without treatment or a drastic change in your diet, attacks may eventually happen several times a year.

In a study, Cherry Diet Control for Gout and Arthritis, it was found that eating 16 cherries a day had an antigout effect. If you can’t find fresh, sweet cherries, you can use frozen cherries or cherry juice concentrate. Recipe below for a Cherry Lime Slush.

Mix frozen cherries, frozen peach slices, fresh spinach, almond milk and the juice of a lime in a high-powdered blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into two small glasses or one large one. If it is too tart for you, add a half of a banana.

CHERRY LIME SLUSH

A cool, tangy drink to make using frozen cherries.

Author: CoffeesBrewing

Recipe type: Drinks

Serves: 2 small glasses

INGREDIENTS

· 1 handful fresh spinach

· 1 cup frozen peach slices

· 1 cup frozen cherries

· ½ cup plain almond milk

· 1 lime, juiced

INSTRUCTIONS