Gout and Atkins

[Wonder Woman]

My husband seems to have gout. He's only 30. He has been reading quite a bit about it online and at first, it looked like diet didn't really have a lot to do with it and now he says that he is reading that maybe it does afterall. A lot of the stuff that he should avoid, he is already avoiding on Atkins. But then it said to avoid "animal protein." I don't think he is eating too much of it, even on Atkins. He talked about trying to bump up his veggies even more. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Jamie

[matawguro]

Re: Gout and Atkins

Gout is a genetic disorder where your body is inefficient at expelling uric acid from your body. It usually hits around the 30s or 40s because the body has accumulated uric acid throughout the years.

Atkins makes gout worse. Recommended foods for treating gout aren't Atkins legal and vice versa. I have gout and I still managed to keep it under control most of the time (I tend to get attacks once or twice a year). Some tips...

1. Water, water, water. Keep your water consumption up. The usual recommendation of 8 glasses + 1 glass/25lbs you want to lose is the bare minimum. You might want to drink a little more if you can. In case of an attack, you'll want to drink significantly more.

2. Drinking tea also helps. No need to decaffeinate unless you're on induction. The diuretic effect of caffeine actually helps. I recommend green tea since its thermogenic properties help in weight-loss.

3. Avoid soy like the plague. That meens avoiding most of the low-carb manufactured frankenfods out there that use soy. Soy crops up in low-carb bars, shakes, bake-mixes, etc. You name it, it probably has soy in it.

4. Ask your doctor about uric acid lowering drugs like Allopurinol. Please note that there are possible side effects so be sure to consult your doctor.

5. Dr. Atkins recommends certain vita-nutrients for gout. I don't have his vita-nutrient book so I hope some one could fill us in on what it says there.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Gout and Atkins

YEah, what Robbie said
My girlfriends husband has gout and I went with them to a local nutritionalist here on base and she told him that he should do a low carb diet, but stay away from certain animal products, like organ meat (no liver for you), sardines and anchovies. But she also said to eliminate caffeine as caffeine could raise uric acid levels. I would probably believe Robbie on this as he has the gout.
She also said to push the water, as it would help flush out the uric acid and she said to minimize alcohol. But I did ask her about low carb and she said that it was fine.

[matawguro]

Re: Gout and Atkins

But she also said to eliminate caffeine as caffeine could raise uric acid levels.

The caffeine is a YMMV (your mileage may vary thing). The amount in tea in my own experience seems ok. I'm not sure about coffee though which is why I didn't recommend it (though my doctor did).