Hi Mariette, @marietter absolutely. All true. I haven't had a bad flare since for 20 years because I've done all the right things - low purine diet. But as I aged I could no longer control the rise in my Uric Acid levels. but I did not know the part about the uric acid because my diet controlled the levels and no one ever tested me because I DID keep it in check. The best thing is to drink lots of fluids over the day. My father's trick was to have a little squeeze of lemon in all of his warm water. He ONLY drank hot water with a little lemon squeeze. I never knew about the gout because I guess he controlled it. He never thought to mention and did not know he could pass it on to me. I only found out he had it when my mother had died, and he stopped drinking the hot water with lemon and got gout! He was already 80 years old! And I didn't learn that I had it for another 20 years after that when I tried tart cherry capsules and the inflammatory stiffness stopped. No one (the dang arthritis doctors!) EVER connected it to gout! For me, it is less important about my diet and more important to keep my pH balanced overall. So the fluids are critical for me. Remember - the thing that happens is one's body gets thrown off of its pH and generates an "acidic" landscape. Eating a little "acidic" like lemon pushes the body to balance itself towards "alkaline" environment. The thing that can really bother me is farmed fish. So I try to stick to wild caught. I can drink a little alcohol, eat a few mushrooms and have a limited amount of all the other things as long as I keep hydrated. Yes, the BIG TOE! But I also got it in other places early on. But all under control now. Good health to you and your friend!