Gout Diet

Posted by cwal @cwal, Jul 22 9:49pm

My husband has had a gout flare. I've been researching Gout and dietary restrictions. It seems there is a lot of conflicting information regarding vegetables. Does anyone have a definitive list from a reliable source regarding vegetables?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bones, Joints & Muscles Support Group.

GOUT is under-acknowledged! I suffered with it for over 30 years. I began having hospital-grade flares in 2002. One time my husband was deployed in 2004 and I couldn't get to the hospital. So I looked online for a home remedy. There was TART CHERRY JUICE, LEMON JUICE (which my dad used) and APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. I took all three and put them in a 32-ounce jar - about 1/2 cup of Black Tart Cherry Knudsen, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar. I filled the rest up with water or seven up. I drank it down over 30 minutes. I then followed with lots of water the rest of the day. The flare NEVER materialized after that! I never had another flare that couldn't be handled at home with my concoction! Whenever I was really active I would have an inflammatory reaction. I'd make my drink and the next day I was good to go. Then, last summer a gal in the Mayo Clinic Forum spoke about Tart Cherry CAPSULES - I bought ZAZZEE on Amazon for $20 It was a miracle! all my inflammatory pain which I now carry with me all the time was vanished. I stopped taking all the crappy meds like Celebrex and all the inflammation meds. Then I asked my doctor to test me for URIC ACID. YEP - I was HIGH! She wanted me to keep taking the Zazzee but I said I wanted to try the Allopurinol. Although my numbers came "into range" on the tart cherry capsules, they came to being PERFECT when I went on the Allopurinol. A lot of people get a "dump" into their system with the medicine when they first start. But I probably was beyong that. I kept a low purine diet for 20 years but protecting against heart disease meant purines entered my diet once again through the fish I now ate - the ones which lower your cholesterol lipids have purines! Farmed fish a HUGE NO NO! I used to not be able to tell -- now I know clearly that farmed salmon makes my whole body stiff as a rod.
The key (I also took nutrition, nutritional chemistry and health in college) is WATER. Drink lots of water over the course of the day. I keep water beside my bed at night. Have your uric acid level checked. I went to so many arthritis doctors over 25 years... all saying no rheumatism, yes, OA. NO ONE EVER said "you might have gout!" Yes, it IS hereditary! My dad drank hot water with a squeeze of lemon in a thermos my mom made before he'd go off to work... after she died, he came down with gout because there was no one there to help him.
I'm SO angry at the doctors - top drawer doctors who were so indifferent to my arthritis saying "you have OA" "nothing can be done" "just keep on moving"... my whole body was racked with pain sometime. Mostly ALL GONE now! Dang doctors. I asked my doc WHY did it have to be this way? She answered she was sorry I suffered so long and she doesn't know why they don't look at GOUT.

REPLY

I realize everyone is different. My story ---- It has been almost three years since I had a gout attack. Doctors put me on Allopurinol. I also started two vitamin supplements (Tart Charry & Gout Clear). After about 3 months my Uric acid reduced to just under 7 mg/dL. I stopped the Allopurinol. The supplements are expensive, but I am more comfortable taking supplements than drugs. My last few blood tests have my uric acid around 4. I do watch my diet and I drink lemon juice. You can goggle Gout Clear and but on line along with Tart Cherry.
Good Luck,
ERLUKE

REPLY
Profile picture for spreels2 @spreels2

Hello...a nutritionist here. It DOES vary from one individual to another; however. Beef, pork, organ meets, alcohol and seafood seem to be the major culprits; but these don't constitute an exhaustive list. As you will read on the internet, the lists of vegetables to avoid often conflict.

Some people have problems with night shade vegetables, while others do not.

As harmless as a tomato may seem, it can cause a major gout flare for some.

I have started taking Febuxostat, because I didn't tolerate Allopurinol. I was reluctant to take it at first, because it can lead to heart problems...but so can having a high uric acid level, of which l wasn't aware. Even taking medicine to hopefully help keep a high uric acid level at bay isn't a miracle cure. You still shouldn't eat whatever whenever.

Jump to this post

As a nutritionist, are you familiar with celery and celery seed for gout?
It contains a compound, 3nb, which acts like allopurinol ... but seems safer.
celery seed
3-nbutylphthalide, or 3nB
inhibits the enzyme xanthine oxidase

I've taken it in capsules for years now, two a day, and it seems to help, pretty much preventing gout flares, at least as long as I watch my diet!

REPLY

I don't have a list but I have my experience. My first gout flare (that I didn't even identify as gout for a couple of years after!) was caused by eating too much hummus! That's vegetable, of course. I still love the stuff but cannot make a habit of it.

Yes, I've read that vegetables are safe, but for me, that just doesn't hold.

REPLY
Profile picture for carbcounter @carbcounter

I don't have a list but I have my experience. My first gout flare (that I didn't even identify as gout for a couple of years after!) was caused by eating too much hummus! That's vegetable, of course. I still love the stuff but cannot make a habit of it.

Yes, I've read that vegetables are safe, but for me, that just doesn't hold.

Jump to this post

hunmus is a legume not a vegetable. And it does have purines. You have to eat it in moderation. I suggest you put more lemon on it and make sure you drink lots of water. Best check the other foods you eat along with it. They probably have purines too.

REPLY
Profile picture for carbcounter @carbcounter

As a nutritionist, are you familiar with celery and celery seed for gout?
It contains a compound, 3nb, which acts like allopurinol ... but seems safer.
celery seed
3-nbutylphthalide, or 3nB
inhibits the enzyme xanthine oxidase

I've taken it in capsules for years now, two a day, and it seems to help, pretty much preventing gout flares, at least as long as I watch my diet!

Jump to this post

I couldn't eat it because I am on FODMAP for IBS. Nothing celery except extract juice,
People with active kidney inflammation should not take celery seed. People with low blood pressure should use caution when considering taking celery seed as a supplement. Some people who are allergic to birch pollen may also be allergic to celery seed.

REPLY

Allopurinol may be helpful to those of us with chronic high uric acid levels resulting in gout. It may protect your vascular system and prevent you against kidney and heart issues. Be careful before you dismiss it just because its a medicine. GOUT is a DISEASE in some of us and should be taken seriously as we age. I was very happy to get on the allopurinol as it made my uric acid tests absolutely "normal." (unlike the supplements). These are hereditary disorders and I'd like to avoid the heart and kidney problems faced by my family. All I have to do is get the "lactose" out of the medicine! (or take lactase with it)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthine_oxidase

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.